


Brewing Love

by morebeesthanyoucouldimagine



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, M/M, Mutual Pining, Tea Shop Owner Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-03-09
Packaged: 2019-03-18 20:49:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 25,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13689534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morebeesthanyoucouldimagine/pseuds/morebeesthanyoucouldimagine
Summary: Levi has been struggling to keep his mother's tea store open for the last few years. When a handsome man re-opens the bakery next door, will Levi have a chance at financial stability and perhaps even romance?





	1. Flirting

A quiet chatter droned in the background as Levi tended to a few orders. Most of the customers were ones that Levi had come to know over the course of a few years. People who shared his love of tea would often look past his gruff demeanor and see a man who just needed a few extra hours of sleep. His shop didn't get new customers all that often, not that Levi minded. New customers would bring in new people who would just make a mess and leave without a care in the world.

Some of his regulars turned into people that Levi would almost consider to be friends. They would ask him questions about how business was going, how his cats were doing, what Isabelle was up to. It made Levi uncomfortable for a long while, but some of his customers finally broke past his distant outer shell and managed to get Levi to talk about himself.

Other customers simply wanted a cheap cup of good tea in the morning. Some of them simply did not respect the tea like it deserved to be treated. Levi was able to recognize these people almost as soon as they entered the shop.

They would all but slam the door open, start loudly raving to their friend about something no one else really cared about, but would talk so loudly that no one could ignore them. They would come up to the counter, ask way too many damn questions. They could have found their answers if they had looked at the menu for more than five seconds, but no, why do that when you could annoy a worker. They would probably try to ask if there were any scones or pastries available or ask about coffee as a substitute for tea. Levi often found himself mere moments away from pulling out his hair.

Many of those customers didn't return, but those that did eventually started to learn how the shop was run. They would come in quietly without disrupting the serene environment, place their order quickly, then sit down. It wasn't that hard to do, Levi thought.

Levi kept an eye on the kettle, he checked their order once more, making sure he was heating the water to the proper temperature. As soon as the thermometer read two hundred and eight degrees, Levi used a mitt to take it off the stove and pour it into one of their larger teapots. He didn't know these customers by name, but he remembered that they would often order a second pot of the same blend anyways.

He carefully opened a tin of earl grey. The warm, robust scent greeted Levi again as he carefully measured out the exact amount that the pot would need. He put the leaves into the pot's strainer and put the lid on top to keep the heat from escaping. Levi let it sit for a few moments, before picking up the pot and slowly sliding a tray underneath it. Once the pot was on the tray, he loaded it up with two cups with matching saucers and spoons and a container of sugar.

Levi carefully balanced the tray on one hand and made his way across the shop. Years of practice allowed him to move swiftly while carrying the fragile porcelain. He placed the tray down in front of two older customers that Levi recognized, but didn't know the names of. They quietly hummed their thanks as they continued their quiet debate of the political corruption inside their knitting group. Levi was amused until he saw them open the sugar container and damn near dump half a cup of it into the pot.

He openly grimaced as he saw them ruin his mother's fine tea blends with so much sugar. He let out a short huff and got back to work. He turned on his heel and returned to his place behind the counter. He picked up his trusty rag and gently picked up one of the wet teacups. The porcelain was soothingly warm under his fingers, fresh from its second cycle through the dishwasher. Levi's thumb traced over the gold-leaf patterns etched into the pure white handle.

He rubbed his rag over the smooth surface, amused by the quiet squeak it made. He made sure to check over each part of the cup for any new cracks or stains before carefully placing it on the shelf with the rest of the dry cups. The fragile cup made a delightful little clink as it was placed. The familiar and reassuring sound made Levi feel a little grounded.

As he took his place back by the register, he allowed himself to lean against the counter and look out the large glass windows on the other side of the store. When he was a child, the streets outside were clogged with so many different cars and pedestrians. Twenty years ago, this little shopping area was the center of the town. Customers would flock here to have their afternoon snacks and enjoy their friends' company. Back when his mother was alive, the shop was so lively and joyous. There were new costumers coming in every day, Kuchel greeted each one with so much enthusiasm.

Levi had hoped to keep the spirit alive after she passed away, but Levi simply didn't have her miraculous patience. But Levi's short temper wasn't the only thing withering their business. The center of the town had shifted over the last decade. Some corporate business bought up an old abandoned farm and turned it into a new age shopping area. After only a few years, three different hotels and half a dozen strip malls were built within a mile of the site. Business flocked to that area and had already driven several of Levi's neighbors out of business.

His mother's best friend, Mrs. Carla, had to close her bakery because she simply couldn't pay to keep the store open and pay for medical bills. Levi missed having her store next to his. Mrs. Carla was a very kind woman. She was one of the only people to attend his mother's funeral.

Levi wasn't really sure how his store was staying afloat. He doubted he could keep it open for much longer. He feared the day when he would have to give up his mother's dream. This store was all he had left of her. It's all Levi truly had.

A loud rumbling of a truck pulled Levi from his memories and fears. His brows furrowed, they didn't really get many trucks on these streets anymore. Who would be delivering something over here? Half of these buildings were closed for good.

Levi's eyes narrowed as he watched the truck slow to a stop right in front of his store. The paint job on the side of the truck was faded and cracked, but Levi managed to get the gist that it was from a discount moving company. Was he supposed to believe that one of these shops was opening again?

Levi stopped leaving against the wall to get a proper view at the window. He was tempted to storm out there and ask what the fuck they thought they were doing, but he held back. The truck had already disrupted the tea shop's peaceful environment enough.

Levi should get back to work, he could probably have dried off the rest of the clean cups, but his curiosity got the best of him. He couldn't wait to see who would be trying their luck on these damn near abandoned streets.

The driver opened his door and slowly stepped down and into the sunlight. He looked familiar, but Levi couldn't quite place his face. His messy brown hair and tan complexion were uncannily reminiscent of Mrs. Carla. The soft wind and brilliant sunlight made him look ethereal. Levi fidgeted behind the counter, gripping his cleaning rag a little bit tighter as he watched the man.

He saw the man pull something out of his pocket and walk past the window. Levi walked down the counter to try and see where he went, but he couldn't see from this angle. He considered stepping out of his store to see what was going on, but as bizarre as this was, he didn't want to leave his shop unattended.

He sighed in defeat and resumed drying off his precious porcelain. He noticed a few new cracks in some of the newer ones and made a mental note not to purchase from those companies again. A few customers said goodbye as they left, but most left without a word.

Levi looked up at the clock and decided to close up an hour early. No one ever came in this late anyways. The light of the setting sun painted long shadows onto the walls as he wiped off the tables and put the dishes in the washer. He made sure to lock everything up before flipping the closed sign on his door and stepping out into the cold evening air.

He saw the bakery's door open for the first time in years, and his curiosity got the better of him. He ducked underneath one of the tarps that partially covered up the doorway. As soon as he stepped in, The young man he saw earlier stood up from behind the counter.

"Hey!" The man wore a warm, genuine grin as he wiped the dust off on his pants. "You run Kuchel's Teashop, right?" He outstretched his hand towards Levi.

"I'm Levi," he said as he stood stiff, not taking Eren's dusty, probably filthy hand.

They stayed still for a moment. Levi with his hands at his side as Eren shrugged and gave up. "Yeah, mom, talked about you a lot," Eren chuckled and rubbed his dusty hand on the nape of his neck. "My name's Eren."

"Your mom?" Levi's eyes swept over the abandoned bakery. Levi felt relieved that someone related to Carla would be taking over the place.

"She used to run this place before… before she," Eren's voice grew heavy. Levi simply nodded and let Eren's voice trail off without having to continue the painful explanation. "Once we paid off her medical bills, we had enough money to consider opening this place up again. I wanted to open it back up in her memory."

Levi could feel the pained atmosphere starting to stifle their conversation. "Do you need help bringing this shit in?" He gestured over his shoulder, pointing through the filthy window. He might not know how to comfort him, but the least he could do was help him.

Eren looked up, his beautiful eyes were wide for a moment before realizing Levi was serious. "That would be fantastic, thank you." He grinned, small beads of sweat were collecting above his brow. Weariness manifested in slightly trembling hands. He needed a break.

Levi nodded and turned to walk out the open door. The tarps and dust glittering in the light of the setting sun gave the decrepit bakery a magical feel. It was filthy, but Levi couldn't bring himself to be disgusted by the old shop. Maybe his childhood nostalgia was speaking for him. Seeing this old place opening again might be the best thing to happen to Levi in years.

Levi used his elbow to push one of the tarps aside as he stepped outside. He put his hands on the bed of the truck, hoisting himself up. Most of the boxes looked new and undamaged, but Levi recognized some of Carla's handwriting some of the beaten up boxes. Levi stood there for a moment in silence, before choosing to pick up a box labeled "counter."

Eren stepped out of the bakery and opened his mouth to warn Levi that the cash registers were in there. It must have weighed nearly a hundred pounds. Levi wrapped his arms around it and picked it up effortlessly. Eren could see his muscles bulge through his shirt's sleeves and felt his face heat up. "Oh, you just, uh-"

Levi pushed passed him, raising a brow. "How old are you?" Levi asked, setting the box down on the counter. A cloud of dust bloomed from underneath the box. Causing Levi to grimace and recoil.

"I'm legal!" Eren's face grew flushed. "I mean, I'm-"

"Do you know how to run a bakery?" Levi asked, wanting to know Eren's maturity and intelligence rather than just a number. The pain of seeing this place get shut down again would be too much. Levi wouldn't forgive this kid if he was blindly stumbling into this place and about to make the situation even worse.

"Mom told me everything before she died. I know her financial plans, her best recipes, what her future plans for the shop were…"

Levi stopped listening after a little bit as it started to finally set in that Mrs. Carla had died. For a few months after her bakery shut down, she had been sending him letters to ask how he and his shop were doing. It was a very kind gesture that Levi appreciated, even if his short replies didn't reflect that. Eventually, the letters started to get shorter and came in less and less often. Levi had simply assumed she had lost interest. His heart felt heavy as he realized it never even crossed his mind that she might not have been alive to write to him. "I'm sorry for your loss," Levi whispered.

Eren's grin slowly faded off his face, as he looked towards the kitchen. "You were close to her, right?"

"Yeah, she and mom were friends for over a decade." Their conversations melted into a peaceful silence between the two of them. They got into a comfortable little cycle of bringing in boxes from the truck. They only bumped into each other once or twice as they worked.  
Once they had all the boxes inside, Levi helped to start unpacking them. Eren hadn't planned to get to that until tomorrow, but if he had help, then he'd be happy to get ahead of schedule. Eren was especially happy when he watched Levi roll up his sleeves as he was hauling appliances around. Who knew a tea fanatic would have such perfect muscles?

Most of the boxes were empty by the time the sun had set. The frigid winter air blew through the open door, making the sweat drenching Eren's shirt even more insufferable. "I think that's a good place to stop for now." Eren smiled, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. "Thank you for your help, I look forward to having you as a neighbor."

Levi paused, his hand resting on the frame of the door. He offered Eren a small, genuine smile. "I look forward to it too."


	2. Hugs n Kisses

Levi’s exhausted reflection looked back at him through the countertop as he wiped it clean. He rarely got a full night’s rest, but thoughts of a particular brunet kept him wide awake all night. At least he had an entire store’s worth of black tea to keep him awake.

Levi’s eyes were heavy, but he still lifted them to look around his shop. The small little tea shop was quieter than usual. Only a handful of his usual customers were still in the store. Mrs. Gladys and her other knitting club members hadn’t shown up in the last few days. Their patronage had been dwindling for a while, but Levi was starting to suspect they had defected to the newer tea store that had just opened up in the center of town.

Levi let his rag slip between his fingers as he brought them up to card them through his hair in frustration.

Levi often had to remind himself to not count the amount of people who came in each day. Of course, the number would always be changing. Most days it went down, and once every blue moon Levi counted more customers in the store than the day before. It wasn’t anything about the store itself probably. It was simply no longer located in the center of the town. It was hard to get to and not nearly as convenient as larger coffee store chains.

Levi never blamed them for leaving. If Levi didn’t live nearby, he’d probably be doing the same damn thing. But it still made it hard to keep opening the shop each and every day when it was so close to going under. His mother would understand if he had to, but Levi never wanted it to come to that.

Opening up this tea store had been her dream since she was a small child. She worked for half her life to save enough to start renting out the building. It had been her pride and joy when it first opened. She only had basic teas and cheap porcelain dishes, but she managed to replace them with more luxurious versions throughout the years. At one point, this store was seen as one of the more chichi locations in the town. Reservations had to be made days in advance.

Levi knew that most people would have said her tea blends were the best part of the store, but he knew his mother’s personality brought a lot of people back in. He couldn’t even try to mimic her cheerful disposition or friendly nature, so Levi tried to at least keep her tea blends alive.

Levi pulled out a small pack of colored chalk from one of the cabinets beneath the counter. Last night he had mixed together Rose petals, Lady Grey, and some dried strawberries to make a sweet blend that his mother used to call “Hugs and Kisses”. It was one of their seasonal mixes, perfect for February.  
He kept his hand steady as he made the addition to the chalkboard menu. He surrounded his pristine handwriting with a few pink hearts, both to emphasize the theme and to draw more attention to it.

Levi set the chalk down next to the register. He completely forgot about it as he heard the door open. Eren stepped in, still wearing a set of dirty, dusty clothes. He could see the dust forming dust bunnies in his hair. It should have repulsed Levi, or at least disgusted him, but he still couldn’t help but feel delighted that he was here.

He didn’t seem to be the only one. He noticed an elderly woman at a nearby table look up from her knitting. She lowered her gold-horned glasses, her wrinkled eyes swept over the man and Levi had to send her a glare to tell her to back off.

If Eren noticed his dirty look, he didn’t say anything about it. Instead, he beamed at Levi, before turning his gaze to look all around the shop. The early morning sunlight lit up his jeweled eyes, making Levi’s heartthrob. Eren’s eyes swept over the dainty lace curtains framing the bay window to the fresh flowers potted all over the store. The smell of freshly brewed tea filled the air, it was as warming and soothing as a hug from a dear friend. It was the first time Eren had ever stepped into the shop, it was even more perfect than he had imagined it.

“Hey!” He finally gets around to greeting Levi, slowly sauntering up to the counter, his eyes still taking in the atmosphere.

Levi’s tongue felt as heavy as stone, he wanted to greet Eren in return but could only manage to give him a nod. He wanted nothing more than to kick his own stupid ass in the leg. He must look like such a prick in Eren’s eyes. The silence caught Eren off guard, stifling any sort of natural conversation between them. His smile grew slightly forced. It dropped quickly.

The delicate calligraphy of Levi’s handwriting on the chalkboard was another unexpected delight for Eren to discover. Eren wasn’t exactly the biggest fan of a fresh cup of tea, but every one of the blends on the menu board sounded like perfection. “This is, uh,” Eren let out a tense breathy laugh, “I always asked mom to let me come in, but she was always worried about me breaking the teacups. This is actually my first time in here. Do I just pick out a flavor, or blend, or…?”

“Pretty much, yeah.” Levi nodded, showing Eren more patience than he gave to any other customer. “I’ll put it in a pot for you with the water heated to the perfect temperature, and bring you a teacup, sugar, cream-”

“You’ll bring me a whole teapot?” Eren’s eyes grew wide. He looked around the little shop and noticed that all the costumers did indeed have an entire teapot sitting in front of them. This place was the whole nine yards.

“Yeah?” Levi raised a brow.

“Sorry, I’m just…” Eren’s voice trailed off, wavering in uncertainty. Levi would be lying if he said he didn’t find it rather cute. “Uh, what is… Hugs and Kisses?”

“An old mix my mother first created. It’s a perfectly radioed blend of rose, strawberries, and Lady Grey tea.” Levi gave Eren the simplified explanation. He figured that’s all Eren really needed to know about it.

“That sounds amazing!” A genuine, eager grin spread across Eren’s face, lighting Levi’s heart on fire. “Um, do I just ask for a cup or a pot or…?”

“Why don’t I just give you a cup so you can try it. I wouldn’t want you to waste tea if you didn’t like it.”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Eren nodded, “Do you have any scones or-”

“We don’t have any pastries, just tea.” Levi cut him off. That was probably the most common question new customers asked him. He had always wanted to have some fresh pastries to sell, but it was simply too difficult to keep in stock without having to sell day-old desserts.

Eren patted the front pocket of his jeans, before frowning slightly. He reached to check his back pocket and let out a sigh of relief as he felt the familiar outline of his wallet. He pulled out the old, beaten up leather and opened it. Levi noticed that Eren only had a few wrinkled and crinkled bills inside. It didn’t seem to bother him that much, as he looked up at Levi and smiled. “How much do I owe you?”

“It’s on the house.” The words fell out of Levi’s mouth before he even realized what he had said.

“No,” Eren chuckled and shook his head, “I can’t let you-”

“It’s just a sample, Eren.” Levi turned to set up the water heater to one hundred and seventy degrees.

Eren opened his mouth, ready to argue, ready to force his money into Levi’s hand, but he eventually gave up. He didn’t want to make a scene and ruin the serene atmosphere. “Fine.”

Levi pushed past the door and stepped into the backroom. He didn’t bother to turn the light on. He had his own organization system memorized, he knew exactly where the Hugs and Kisses tin was. He picked it off the shelf and carried it back out into the main room of the store.

Usually, he would measure it out into a strainer and put it directly into the teapot. He very rarely had to make single cups. He had to search through one of his drawers for the single serving measuring spoon. He put the perfect amount of tea leaves, petals, and dried strawberries into a strainer. He made sure he heard the satisfying click of it being locked shut before slowly lowering it by the chain into the cup. He used to use a timer to ensure proper steeping time, but he had learned to judge by the intensity of the color over the years.

He could feel Eren fidgeting nervously behind the counter, he didn’t pay him any attention though.

Soon enough, the tea was perfectly steeped. Levi quickly grabbed the ornate strainer by the chain and removed it from the cup. A few stray drops of tea ran down the side. Levi quickly wiped them off before they could discolor the elegant blue flowers adorning it. “Careful, it’s hot,” Levi warned. He picked up the delicate porcelain by the rim, handing it over to his neighbor.

“Thank you.” Eren smiled, carefully reaching out to take the handle. The porcelain felt comfortably warm under his touch as he cupped it in his hands. He took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly, letting the heat sooth him. He lifted the cup to his lips, Levi staring at him, waiting to see his reaction.

Eren blew across the surface of the red tea, ripples danced across the surface, releasing even more of the delicious scent into the air. Eren’s lips rested against the warm cup for a few moments before tipping it up ever so slightly. The sweet, delicate, warmth of the tea flooded Eren’s mouth, delighting his taste buds. A pleased hum slipped out of Eren’s mouth as his eyes slipped shut.

“This is really, really good.” Eren smiled, taking another small sip. “It’s like… layered? That doesn’t make sense, sorry.”

“I know what you mean.”

Eren felt painfully out of place in Levi’s store. Everything here was pristine, perfect. Eren was sweaty, tired, and covered in dust after another harsh morning of setting up the bakery. “I wish I had put on something nicer before coming in,” Eren looked down at his old, ratty work clothes. His cheeks flushed, “Or at least dusted myself off.”

“You can dust yourself in the restroom.” Levi nodded his head to the unlabeled door on the other side of the store. Eren had assumed it was a storage

“Thanks, Levi.”

As Eren walked off, Levi let out a shaky breath he didn’t realize he had been holding in. Levi’s chest hurt, and he had absolutely no idea why. Was he getting sick all of a sudden?

-

Eren ended up stopping back at the shop after all of Levi’s customers left. He had put in another full day of work setting up the bakery. He could hope to open it up sometime in the next week. He was nervous about how it would do, so he thoroughly hoped a cup of tea would ease his nerves.

“You run this entire shop by yourself?” Eren twirled his little spoon in a fresh cup of Hugs and Kisses, watching the sugar melt slowly. “That’s incredible!”

Levi just shrugged, his hard work was customary to him. “Mom used to have a few employees, but they didn’t treat the porcelain and china with respect. I just don’t want to have to deal with broken dishes each week.”

“That makes sense. Mom had some issues with employees breaking appliances too.” Eren shrugged, taking another sip of the delicious, rather costly tea.

Kuchel never had a problem that severe or costly. It was more about a lack of understanding or care for the art of tea making. “I just always figured that no one could run this place better than me-”

“Because no one respects this place like you do.” Eren finished the sentence. Levi lifted a brow and sat back in his seat. “I get you, Levi. I really do.”

Levi looked away from Eren, his eyes glazing over in thought. Eren was right. It was oddly unsettling. “It’s getting late.”

“I should get going,” Eren nodded, making sure to push his chair in before leaving the store.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm writing this for the ereri month of love event!  
> You can follow me on tumblr! I'm morebeesthanyoucouldimagine


	3. Friendship

Eren had finally finished setting up the bakery. It looked just as beautiful as Levi remembered. They both had been longing for this day for half a decade. He decided to open his shop an hour later just to be there and see it re-open for the first time.

Levi arrived at his own store early that day, preparing his store so that he had more time to help Eren with his. He was just finishing restocking the sugar bowls when he heard Eren’s car pull up. Levi considered going out there and helping Eren, but perhaps he could use a few moments to himself to think about it all.

Levi waited about twenty minutes before heading in to help him. Eren was vibrating with energy. Excitement and anxiety were a potent, terrifying combination. The poor kid looked like he was about to have a heart attack. Levi did what he could to help Eren from losing it completely. Levi wasn’t able to help set up the kitchen that much or help bake at all. He focused on preparing the main dining area.

The windows shimmered in sunlight and excitement. Petite, café style tables filled the main area, matching chairs set around each one. Decorative napkin holders and small glass jars of assorted jams and butters were arranged on each table. It was a small store, but it was so welcoming. It looked just as beautiful as Levi remembered it.

Eren’s eyes were bright and vibrant with joy, his hands were being wrung tightly with anxiety. Levi understood the feeling all too well. “You’ll be fine, kid.”

“You’re not that much older than me,” Eren whispered under his breath as he handed Levi an apron, silently asking him to tie it around his waist.

Levi took the worn fabric from Eren’s hand, recognizing it as Mrs. Carla’s original apron. His mind flooded with memories of Eren’s mother as his thumb ran over the stitching once. He willed himself to not fall into nostalgia and didn’t keep Eren waiting too long. “Still,” Levi teasingly whispered back as he put the apron over Eren’s head.

Eren fixed his already perfect brown locks while Levi turned him around. “Whatever, old man.”

Levi retorted by pulling the straps of the apron just a little bit too tightly. Movement from the corner of his eye stopped him from teasing Eren more. He turned his head to fully see the storefront window. “Holy shit.” Levi’s mouth fell open in a stunned silence. Cars were pulling up and starting to line both sides of the road. Excited patrons, mostly young adults started to line up on the sidewalk, eagerly talking amongst themselves.

“What?” Eren’s body tensed up slightly. Levi could practically see his heart about to leap out of his chest. “What is it?”

“There’s a fuck-ton of people out there,” Levi whispered, still in disbelief. Eren must have put out an advertisement or something. Dear lord, how did this kid get this much attention?

“There is?” Eren’s body went rigid as he turned his head to just barely see the crowd starting to form. “Oh my god.”

“You’ll be fine.” Levi reached up to ruffle Eren’s hair. Mrs. Carla used to ruffle his own hair when she came around to say hi to his mother. He assumed she probably did the same with Eren. It was softer than it looked, Levi had to force himself to not stroke it for too long.

Eren did relax, but only for a moment. His panic grew as soon as Levi’s hand left his hair. “They’re gonna eat me alive! I don’t have enough pastries to fend them off!”

“Just get through today, Eren.” Chances were, this was the store wouldn’t see this many customers for a while.

“Are you going to stay all day?” Eren said in the same way a toddler would ask their parent on their first day of school. The confidence and determined nature had faded entirely from Eren’s face. All that remained was uncertainty and fear.

Levi wished he could. “I can’t, Eren.”

“Oh, sorry.” Eren nodded, realizing how needy he must have sounded.

Levi didn’t blame him in the slightest. He himself wasn’t sure if he would have been capable of handling a crowd like this in his store.

Levi was mostly there for emotional support for the first few minutes, making sure Eren didn’t have an anxiety attack as soon as the door opened. Eren took it much better than both of them had expected. The days of preparation had really paid off. He had Carla’s personal system nearly perfected. Eren grabbed and bagged the orders almost as fast as they came in. Levi couldn’t help but wonder if he had helped Carla in the bakery when he was a kid. After all, that’s how Levi learned how to take care of his own shop.

Once the first wave started to die down, Levi gave Eren a nod of encouragement before heading out the back door. There was a small alley behind their stores, just barely large enough for Levi to walk through. He couldn’t remember the last time he used this door to get into his bakery. It just added another layer to the odd atmosphere of the day.

Levi grabbed his own apron off the counter and tied it around his waist as he walked to the main door. He flipped over the open sign and let out a quiet yawn. As soon as Levi made it back to the counter, he heard the familiar sound of the door chiming open. He half expected to see Eren standing there, asking for him to come back and help, but it wasn’t Eren. It was part of the large crowd Eren had brought in.

Levi hurried to get around to the other side of the counter. He barely got the register on before a woman started telling him his order.

Levi lost himself into the steady rhythm of his work, but he still could hear bits and pieces of his customer’s conversations.

“Mom used to bring us here when I was a kid. I’d used to put on a little princess dress and mom sneak some sugar cookies in and we’d have fancy tea parties here.”

“I had completely forgotten about this place.”

“I’m so glad this place is still open.”

“We need to try and come here more often.”

Levi didn’t even try to suppress a smile from tugging on his lips. He hoped his mother could see this.

Levi’s eyes lifted for a brief moment between orders to see the other stores across the street just as lively. He hadn’t seen some of these places fully lit and open in months. He felt more than just pride and joy swelling in his heart. He felt hope. Eren had brought them a chance to stay open, a hope that they wouldn’t have to give up their dreams.

If this continued, Levi wouldn’t be able to thank Eren enough.

Eventually, Levi started to notice people with familiar brown paper bags flooding into his shop. The decadent smell of pastries filled the air, mixing perfectly with the robust smell of fresh tea. It was a divine match made in heaven.

-

Levi was exhausted and weary not even four hours later. He hadn’t had to close the shop to take a break in six years. He had to close the shop for just thirty minutes to go grab something to eat. He jokingly considered trying to get in line to buy one of Eren’s pastries, but there was no way he could get one in under an hour.

When he came back to the shop, he made himself his own special brew of black tea before opening the doors again. Thankfully, the second rush of the day wasn’t nearly as intense as the first. He managed to flawlessly juggle orders and serving for the rest of the day.

The rest of the day sped by before Levi even realized the sun had already set. It was two hours past his typical closing time when he flipped the open sign over. He let his entire body rest against the door, letting himself catch his breath for a moment before heading to the storage closet to grab his broom to start sweeping up the sugar and trash off the floor.

Levi could still hear lots of hustle and bustle going on next door. Eren was probably on the verge of passing out. Perhaps he could try to bring Eren a cup of black tea tomorrow to help.

Levi let himself get lost in his work, enjoying the peace that cleaning brought him. There was something so terribly therapeutic about fixing messes and resetting the store. It was as if all the stress and work of the day didn’t have lasting effects on the establishment.

Eventually, Levi heard the bakery start to grow quiet. He felt relief knowing that Eren made it through his first day.

“I haven’t had this many customers in damn near a decade.”

Eren’s eyes widened, before softening into a smile. “I’m so glad to hear that.”

“It’s because of you.” Levi kept wiping down the counter. When the only noise in the store was the squeaking of the rag against the tile, Levi looked up to see Eren’s shocked face. Their gazes locked, Levi couldn’t believe the uncertainty he saw in his eyes. “You know that, right?”

“Well…” Eren rubbed the back of his neck.

“You’re giving half these stores some hope that they might manage to stay open.” Levi gestured to the window. It was the first time he had seen these stores open this late in ages. “We just gotta hope that this initial wave of customers doesn’t die off too quickly.”

Eren let out a shaky breath, starting to feel the pressure to succeed weigh down on him. “Would it be too much to ask for another cup of Hugs and Kisses?”

“Of course not.” Levi dropped his rag next to the register and fetched the proper tin and got to work making a perfect cup for Eren.

“How much will that cost me?” Eren reached into his back pocket to grab his wallet.

Levi shook his head. “You don’t owe me anything.” He kept focus on making the tea, not giving Eren much of an opening to argue.

“Levi…” Eren’s voice trailed off. He had made enough money today to cover half of his expenses for the entire month, he could afford to give some of it to Levi. “You know that’s not good for business, right?”

“I’ve been running this place since you were still shitting your diaper. Don’t tell me what’s good for business and what’s not.” Levi handed him the cup. The vibrant red tea threatened to spill over the rim as Eren slowly took it from Levi’s hands. “Besides, I think you’re pretty damn good for business.”

“Well, I suppose that might be true.” Eren lifted the cup to his lips. Blowing softly against the surface. “Maybe we could work something out? Maybe make this work even better for both of us?”

“Oh?” Levi walked around the counter, heading over to his supply closet. “Like what?” He stepped in, not bothering to turn on the light.

“Well…” Eren took a timid sip of the tea, mulling his words over in his head, “What if we offer discounts for people who visit both our stores?”

Levi stepped out of the closet, armed with a feather duster and a step stool. “What do you mean?”

“Like….” Eren’s eyes followed Levi as he set the step stool around the shop to dust the shelves. “If someone brings in a fresh scone from my bakery,” Eren paused to take another sip, “and goes to get a nice pot of tea from you, maybe they could get it cheaper? Or you could offer coupons for some of my goods every now and then!”

“I think…” Levi stepped down from the stool, letting the duster rest on his forearm. He stayed silent for a moment, considering the offer. It was tempting, and it sounded almost too good to be true. “I think that might just work.”


	4. Sweets

“Good morning!” Eren pushed through the front door of Levi’s shop. The sun had just barely risen and Levi wasn’t hoping to actually open the store for another hour.

“Hey.” Levi nodded in acknowledgment but kept working on organizing the teacups behind the counter.

“I brought you a little something.” Eren grinned, strolling over to the counter. In his hands was a simple brown paper box. Carla’s name was printed on the top with the same cursive as the rest of the bakery’s items.

“I’m not really-” Levi put his hands up to try and reject the gift, but Eren pushed it into his hands anyway. Levi held onto it for a moment before just accepting it. “Okay.” He lifted the lid slowly, unsure of what Eren was giving him.

In retrospect, he really should have assumed Eren, a baker, was giving him a pastry. The small pastry had no topping and nothing leaking out the side to indicate the flavor of the filling. The pastry itself was quite thin and flaky. As soon as Levi bit into it, large pieces of it started to fall onto the floor. Yet another thing for him to clean up. It seemed alright though until Levi tasted the filling.

“What do you think?” Eren beamed, trying to appear quite happy and collected. His arms were behind his back, his knuckles had turned white as he gripped his hands tightly. His stomach was in knots as he watched Levi take the first bite.

The mild, sickly taste of the filling made Levi want to spit it out. He recognized it immediately as banana flavored. He did his best to swallow it though. “It’s not really my thing.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Eren let out a breathy laugh, both to ease his own nerves and to try and lighten Levi’s mood. “Is it overcooked?”

“I’m just not really into bananas,” Levi said honestly, putting the pastry back into the box.

“You just seemed like a guy who was into bananas.” Eren shrugged. A moment of silence fell between them as they both processed his words. Levi’s brows furrowed, mouth slightly agape. Eren took a sharp breath in through his nose. “Ignore what I just said,” Eren let out a nervous chuckle, “So, the pastry itself is okay?”

“Yeah.” Levi nodded, putting the pastry back into the bag. “Don’t start doubting your skills now, Eren.” If he could make it through the first day, then Levi was sure he could make it through the rest.

“Thank you, Levi.” Eren gave Levi a small, insecure smile before turning to leave the store.

Levi felt the urge to comfort Eren, but he knew that there was nothing he could do to really sooth Eren.

-

Eren returned about the same time the next day. He shuffled in through the door without much of a greeting and simply handed Levi a new pastry box. Levi took it from him without any sort of rejection, he still felt a little guilty about dismissing Eren’s hard work yesterday.

Levi lifted up the lid of the container. His eyes widened when he saw the absolute perfection in the box. The pastry from yesterday had been for lack of a better term, plain and unassuming. This pastry was the most extravagant edible thing Levi had ever seen. It was a braided cinnamon twist. The cinnamon mixture was woven into the bread as if it was a ribbon. The braid was so neatly done that Levi almost had a hard time believing that Eren himself made this. If he wasn’t Carla’s son, he would have outright asked him where he bought it.

Levi was almost afraid to touch it, afraid to ruin the hard work Eren had put into it.

“Shit that looks pretty.” The sugary glaze cracked underneath Levi’s gentle touch, turning the translucent covering into an opaque white. “This is filled with apple, isn’t it?”

“Do you not like apple?”

“Not really.” Levi shrugged. The dejected look on Eren’s face made Levi want to kick himself in the teeth. “You know you don’t have to please me, right?”

“I want to though.”

 

-

As soon as Eren entered Levi’s shop the next day, Levi felt a headache starting to catch on. “Eren, I’m running a little behind. I can’t talk too much this morning.” He didn’t face Eren, instead, he simply kept working on setting up the shop. He wasn’t used to preparing for all the customers Eren had been bringing in lately.

“As if you ever talk too much.”

Levi stopped sweeping to send a glare in Eren’s direction. “I can get pretty fucking chatty when I want to.”

“Anyways, I brought you a new puff pastry. It’s a simpler one this time.” Eren smiled, quite confident that this one would help to win Levi over.

Levi opened up the box and saw a rather plain looking puff pastry. He saw a little bit of brown filling leaking out of one end. Levi turned the pastry back and forth in his hand. He curiously prodded the filling. “Is this chocolate?”

“Nope.” Eren’s grin only grew wider.

“Then what the hell is it?”

“It’s non-copyrighted, non-trademarked chocolate and hazelnut spread.” Eren’s words quickly fell into a breathy chuckle.

Levi raised a brow, “…You mean Nutella.”

“I legally cannot say that.” Eren clasped his hands together, rubbing them anxiously. “How does it taste though?”

Levi took another bite, taking some more time to consider the flavor on his tongue. “It’s quite alright.”

“Really?” Eren grinned. His eyes lighting up with the same addicting warmth that Levi found himself weak for.

“Yeah, I would eat this again.” Levi shrugged.

What seemed dismissive of others was the highest praise from Levi. Eren practically ran out of the tea shop jumping for joy.

Levi shook his head and let out an amused sigh before returning to cleaning.

-

“You’re making me worried that I’m gonna have to upgrade my gym membership,” Levi grumbled as Eren pulled up a stool to the counter.

Eren’s smirk reflected on the surface of his cup of tea. “Aww, is Levi scared of the tiny little pastries I give him?”

“No, I’m annoyed by the young baker next door is harassing me with his sweet cakes and hot buns.”

“My what?” A small smile tugged at the corners of Eren’s mouth, but it did not overpower the confusion on his face.

Levi folded his arms, his cleaning rag draped over his forearm. “It’s a phrase, right?” Eren’s confusion broke into a bright and bubbly burst of laughter. The indignity dripped off of Levi’s words, but it did not deter Eren’s mirthful laughter.

“Not since the Victorian era or something!” Eren wiped a small tear from his eye. “I know I call you old, but I didn’t think you were that old.”

“Get out of my store.” Levi playfully slapped his rag on Eren’s arm.

“I’ll see you this evening.” Eren waved, taking his cup of tea with him. He would simply bring it back to Levi that evening.

“Yeah, yeah,” Levi sighed, “I’ll have your pot ready for you when you come in.”

-

“Your future spouse is going to get diabetes in a week,” Levi said as Eren came through the door the next morning with Levi’s daily pastry.

“Heh, maybe.” Eren’s smile wavered, his eyes lowering to the floor.

“What do you have for me today?”

“I can’t tell you-” Eren started.

“-It’s a surprise.” Levi finished his sentence with a smirk.

Eren snorted and shoved the regular brown box into Levi’s hands. “Just take the damn box.”

Levi happily took the box from Eren, lifting the lid. He tilted the box in his hands to get a better view at the pastry. “Cream cheese again?”

“You seemed to like it.”

“It’s alright.” Levi shrugged, putting the box gently on the countertop.

“Overall, what do you think?”

“I think it’s not bad.” Levi gave Eren a small smile. It was partially his genuine feeling, but he also just wanted Eren to just lay back. The poor kid was working so hard to please him, it made Levi feel guilty.

Eren took Levi’s words and expression as a success, but he still wasn’t satisfied with his work just yet.

-

Eren’s hand rested on the handle of the unlocked cupboard. He took a deep breath through his nose and let out a shaky breath out of his mouth as he opened the door. All that was in the cupboard was a small, worn leather book. It was unlabeled by words but marked by the wear and tear of years of work. It was his mother’s first cookbook. It was older than this bakery, and it had every single recipe she ever made.

Eren’s hands trembled slightly as he pulled out his mother’s own personal cookbook. She had copied her most common and useful recipes into another, sturdier book. Eren was more comfortable with using that one. He had already spilled batter, nearly lit it on fire, and yet that copy was still intact. But this, this was the most precious thing Eren owned.

His mother’s handwriting and scribbling had faded slightly over time. Her earliest recipes where the hardest to read. Hasty, messy notes were haphazardly squeezed in between lines and into the margins.

If Eren focused on the book hard enough, he could almost feel his mother there with him.

It was hard for him to open this book up. The first few times he had looked at it after she had passed away, some of his tears had dripped onto the pages, smudging some of the writing. Since then, Eren always tried to mentally prepare himself before checking with the book.

Eren’s fingers ran over the dried ink, letting out a deep breath.

He turned the pages cautiously as if it would tear with a simple tug. He needed to find the perfect recipe for Levi. He was sure he could find it in his mother’s notes.

-

Levi didn’t even need to turn around to make sure it was Eren who had just walked through the door. There was something about the way that he opened the door that made the bells chime in such a unique way. “Morning, you little shit.”

“Good morning, you ass.” Eren greeted back, placing a box at the end of the counter. “I got something for you.”

“What? Something for me? I can’t believe it.” His words absolutely dripped with loving sarcasm. Levi didn’t even look up as he kept working on setting up the register.

Eren let out a fake offended scoff, “Shut up and take a bite.” He grinned and pushed the box down the counter.

The box gently hit the side of the register just as Levi shut its drawer.

A bit of powdered sugar was smeared on the rim of the box, and a poorly tied ribbon kept it shut. It looked terrible, but Levi could tell Eren must have put extra effort into this.

Levi recognized exactly what it was as soon as he opened the box. The smell alone was familiar enough to bring back memories of Mrs. Carla. It had to be her dark chocolate, raspberry, brie puff pastries. She used to make these all the time for him and his mother. It was one of the things he looked forward to most on his birthday.

The puff pastry was beautifully cut into a perfect little square. The scalloped edges provided a dainty border, adding to the elegance. The raspberry and brie filling didn’t seem to be leaking from any side. Dark Chocolate was sparingly drizzled in a diagonal pattern across the surface of the pastry. The chocolate looked perfectly tempered, a bright, beautiful sheen made it glisten. It was simply unreal to Levi. Mrs. Carla herself had never made a pastry look so stunning.

The bed of raspberries and powdered sugar could have fooled Levi into thinking this had been provided by a five-star restaurant. It looked like a masterpiece.

Eren made these delicacies look so simple to make, but Levi could tell from the nervous, expectant smile that Eren had toiled over these. “What do you think?”

“It’s perfect.”


	5. Dining

“Do you ever take a break?” Eren asked, leaning against the counter. He was growing more and wearier after each day. The current of customers had dwindled slightly since the first day, but it wasn’t enough for Eren to keep up with. He needed someone to help him, but only Levi seemed to have the same respect for his mother’s store.

“Yeah, I go home and sleep.”

“No, that’s not a break, Levi,” Eren sighed, letting his finger run around the rim of his teacup. “I mean like during the day. Do you ever close the shop for lunch?”

“My shop is usually busier around that time.” “I would only close the shop if I had to.” Levi thought back to how stressful Eren’s opening day had been for him. That day had been the first day that he had closed his shop in the middle of the day in years. The only other time was when he had contracted the stomach bug six years ago.

Levi couldn’t quit work, it was like a drug with the worst high.

“Oh, I, uh…” Eren’s voice trailed off as he tried to figure out what else to say. He nervously licked his chapped lips and realized that he didn’t really have anything else to say to Levi. “I’ll talk to you later.” Eren awkwardly stumbled out and left to go set up his own shop.

-

 

“Morning, Eren.” Levi greeted when he heard the same bells chime at the exact same time the next morning.

“Hi, Levi!” Eren’s brilliant smile seemed to have returned at last. Who knew that only a few hours without it would make Levi so miserable. He placed Levi’s brown take-out box on the counter, reminding him once again that he should probably start going to the gym more often now. “Would you like to go out to dinner tonight?”

“Eren…” Levi looked up into Eren’s eyes, looking for some indication of insincerity. “Are you asking me on a date?”

“What? Oh, no, no!” Eren raised his hands and shook his head. “I just wanted to ask you about another business idea! I mean, it could be a date if you want it to be!”

“I’d like that.” Levi nodded. He could feel his face heat up with a little blush on his porcelain skin.

“You would?” Eren’s brows raised, his mouth stayed open ever so slightly in shock.

Levi’s eyes drifted to the floor, finding it suddenly hard to maintain eye contact. “Yeah.” He nodded a little. The corners of this lips twitched upwards ever so slightly. If Eren hadn’t known him he might not have even noticed it.

But he did.

Eren’s heart thundered in his chest. He opened his mouth, trying to reply to Levi, but his words remained stiff in his throat. He could feel his face grow warm and didn’t need a mirror to know he was as red as his own cherry pastries. He needed to say something. He was probably looking like a major idiot right now.  
“I’ll pick you up tonight!” He blurted out, before nervously running out of the shop.

His own bakery door slammed harshly behind him as he made his way to the kitchen. He pressed his back against the cold brick wall. A large grin stretched across his face.

-  
Eren showed up much later than he usually did, Levi almost started to worry that Eren was going to stand him up. The only thing that kept him from fearing that was knowing the fact that they saw each other every day would deter anyone from experiencing that awkward moment later.

Levi’s eyes widened as he stepped into the store. He was wearing a completely different outfit and Levi felt it was quite unfair. That simple button up and black slacks had no right to look that good on him. And the light of the sunset illuminating his beauty certainly didn’t help Levi stay on his feet.

“You look…” Levi’s eyes swept over Eren’s outfit, suddenly feeling self-conscious about his own worn, tired apron and basic clothes. “You look good.”

Levi had just finished closing up his shop and grabbed his keys from beneath the counter before following Eren outside towards his car.

“Thank you. You look nice too.” Eren fished his keys out of his front pocket, unlocking the car as they approached it.

“My face is probably horrifically oily right now.” Levi resisted the urge to touch his face. He tried to freshen up his face in the bathroom every now and then. But the stress of more customers had made his face oilier and had given him less time to clean it.

Eren’s face softened as he held the car door open for Levi. “You look fine, Levi.”

Levi was relieved to see that Eren’s car wasn’t littered with trash and half eaten meals. It was quite beaten up with torn seats repaired with duct tape, and there was an uncomfortable amount of visible wires, but it was at least clean.

“Where are you taking me?” Levi asked. His eagerness made no impression in his voice, but it certainly had his stomach in a knot.

“It’s a surprise,” Eren said melodically, shutting the car door gently. He quickly ran around to the other side of the car.

Levi scoffed, “That doesn’t make me feel any better.”

“I know, but I just want to surprise you!” Eren clicked his own seatbelt. He turned to face Levi as he turned the ignition. The lights of his dashboard gave his face an ethereal glow. “Put a little faith in me.”

Levi swallowed and looked down at his lap. “Is the food good at least?”

“For the price the food is great.” Eren adjusted his mirror. That was probably the only thing that made Levi feel better about this situation. At least his date was a safe driver.

“For the price…?” Levi raised a brow, suddenly feeling a little less inclined to just trust Eren with their plans for dinner.

Eren just nodded and kept his eyes on the road. The street lights above them were the only major sources of light. The painfully artificial lights streaked across their faces every few moments. Most of the stores on their little street were shut down already. Levi was usually the last store owner to leave at night, very few people stayed around as late as he did.

As they got closer to the center of the city, the lights on the buildings started to transition to more lively, vibrant, and welcoming signs. Deserted streets turned into roads crowded with cars and people. Lonely telephone poles eventually became classy, fenced trees lining the pavement. Levi rarely ventured out this far into the upper level of the city. He always felt unwelcome here.

Eren pulled his car into a small parking lot next to a fairly new looking diner, but the poorly maintained lights and filthy windows betrayed its true age. “Are you sure this is the right place?” Levi said, hesitant to unclick his seatbelt.

“Yeah, why?” Eren opened his own car door. A gust of warm spring air filled the car, helping in the smell of greasy, homecooked food.

Levi was sure that food like this had its place. And its place, in Levi’s opinion, was in the nearest trash can. But, how bad could it really be if Eren was there? “Nothing.”

Levi willed himself to get out of Eren’s car, nearly stepping in a filthy puddle in the process. He had to walk a little bit faster to catch up to Eren. Damn him and his excited hunger and his long legs.

“Hey, Sasha!” Eren shouted as he stepped in through the door. “Connie!”

Levi stepped in behind him, careful to not touch the door handle. He was sure it was just as filthy as everything else here. The diner looked like it was modeled after the iconic diners of the 1950s. The red plastic dining booths should have looked shiny and fresh, but the lack of attention or care made it look more… authentic. Levi didn’t even want to think about whatever the hell he was smelling.

They looked like they were the only ones in the restaurant until Levi noticed an old man sitting in a booth in the back. He had his head leaning against the wall with his mouth wide open.

Levi hoped he was asleep.

“Oh my god.” A girl with a messy ponytail popped out from behind the kitchen door. “He actually has a date!” She yelled back into the kitchen. Levi raised a brow and looked at Eren for answers.

“My friends work here.” He shrugged.

“I’ll be right out to get your order for drinks.” She called out to them before closing the kitchen doors. Levi got a chance to glance into the kitchen as the doors kept swinging on their hinges for a few moments. The amount of grease and filth he saw back there should have been illegal, and it probably was.

“Are you alright, Levi?” Eren asked, resting his hand on Levi’s for a moment. “You look…”

“I feel like my face is going to break out from just looking at those greasy-ass counters.” Levi grimaced.

“Yeah, I don’t think their cleaning standards are on your level,” Eren chuckled. A brilliant smile stretched across his face.

Levi’s heart fluttered, but his eyes narrowed. “Stop doing that, you’re going to give me diabetes.”

“Are you calling me too sweet?” Eren’s smile continued to grow. “You know that’s just going to make me smile more, right?”

“Stop it, you prick.” Levi rolled his eyes and noticed motion in the corner of his eyes.

“Here. Enjoy, lovebirds!” Sasha smiled, placing a steaming pile of loaded curly fries in front of them. Small tiny pieces of bacon were haphazardly littered on top of it, smothered in unnaturally yellow cheese. Levi was going to be sick.

“Eren…” Levi’s words trailed off as his eyes grew wide. A glob of cheese dripped onto the table.

“Yeah?” Eren dug through the top layer of cheese with his fingers before pulling out a fry from the center of the pile. The curl was steaming and dripping with bacon and cheese.

Levi felt like he was going to be sick. “This is your usual? An unwashed teenager has less grease than this does.” Levi turned up his nose, looking away as Eren popped a few fries into his mouth.

“Levi! Don’t be so rude!” Eren gasped, still helping himself to the cheese fries. “My friends from culinary school are working here right now.

“I’m serious. This looks like it’s just plastic grease.”

“It’s still tasty though.” Eren brought a cheese covered finger up to his lips.

“Eren you have baking skills that could rival shitheads in France, and yet you define this as tasty.” Levi picked up one of the poorly cleaned forks he was provided with and cautiously poked at the thick layer of cheese. He wouldn’t be surprised to see a fly swimming in the buttery goo.

“You mean that?” Eren could feel himself starting to tear up a bit. Levi had been in the business much longer than he had. To have Levi’s approval meant everything to him.

“I do.” Levi tried to ignore the artificial yellow cheese on Eren’s lips as he changed the conversation. “You said you had a business idea, right?”

“Oh, uh, yeah!” Eren nodded, grabbing a napkin and wiping off his lips. Levi let out a quiet sigh of relief.

“So,” Eren took a brief pause to gather his words, “What would you think about merging our two businesses?”

“What exactly do you mean by merging?”

“You know how we’re offering discounts for each other’s stores?” Eren clasped his hands together

“Yeah?”

“Think about that,” Eren pulled his hands apart to emphasize his words, “but on a larger scale.”

“How large of a scale though? Are we talking about knocking down the wall between our stores and making it one store?” Levi scoffed.

Eren bit his lower lip. “We could consider that.”

“Eren, you are clearly a capable baker, but you don’t have much business experience. It would be a shitty idea to risk our mother’s dreams on your whims.”

“This isn’t some half-baked plan, Levi.” Eren’s determination melted off his face as soon as he realized what he said. A groan of dismay ripped itself from his throat.

Levi’s brows furrowed, and he brought his hands up to cradle his head. “Did you just-”

“It was an accident, I swear.” Eren pleaded halfheartedly. 

All Levi could do was shake his head in his hands. “Hmm.”

“My mom actually had the idea for merging the two stores and everything. She had even gotten a contractor to give her an estimate on the price.”

“Was this back when my mother was alive?” Levi’s voice grew quiet, somber. His fingers brushed over Carla’s fine sketching. This seemed unreal.

“Yes. Mom, kind of gave up on this dream after your mother passed away.” Eren lowered his eyes. He felt the urge to reach out and take Levi’s hand, but he doubted that would really help someone like Levi right now.

Levi swallowed a bit, feeling a familiar sting in his eyes and a weight in his chest. “It’s getting late, I think I’ll call a taxi.”

“I-I could drive you home!” Eren offered, ready to jump up and take Levi anywhere. He could always just pay Sasha and Connie back later.

“No, you just eat your food.” Levi pulled his coat back on before standing up from the booth seat. “I need to think about your offer.” Eren kept quiet as Levi left. A tense air fell between them as Levi pushed the diner door open and stepped out.


	6. Flowers

Levi had gone in early that morning. He only needed to check inventory once every two weeks. And he was quite thankful for it and wished that he could push it off even longer. The quiet clicking of his pen and the soft sound of scribbling on paper was like a corporate lullaby. He would be lucky if he managed to keep his eyes open all evening at this rate.

A familiar chime of the bells by the door let him know someone just entered his store. “Eren, you’re here early,” Levi called out from the storage closet, barely holding in a yawn from slurring his words.

“Who’s Eren?” A feminine voice called out. Levi recognized it immediately. “Are you trying to tell me you don’t remember me?”

Levi flicked off the light switch and walked back out behind the counter. He placed his clipboard down and saw his childhood friend, Isabel, standing in the middle of his seating area. She was surrounded by bags and bushels of fresh flowers, she had probably grown them all herself on her farm.

She had inherited her family’s farm in Rose after her aunt had died. She hadn’t grown up on the farm and had only visited it a few times before she inherited it, but she loved it with all her heart. She took to farm life quite easily, but she didn’t take being separated from her friends as well. She rarely came to visit him, but when she did she always brought him fresh produce and flowers.

“How could I forget someone as annoying as you?” Levi placed the armful of tins down on the front counter, grimacing at the loud clatter at such an early hour. He walked around the counter, careful to not step on any flowers in his way.

“Levi, you’re such an ass.” Isabel chuckled, slapping Levi’s arm playfully.

He rolled his eyes and reached up to ruffle her hair a little bit harder than usual. “What are you doing here?”

“What, I can’t visit my oldest friend without a reason?” Isabel grinned brightly before Levi gestured to the field of flowers surrounding them. “Okay, okay, you got me. My flowers and produce haven’t been selling so well.”

“It seems like no one in this town is faring too well.” Levi let out a quiet sigh.

“Um, it looks like Titan’s doing well.” Isabel pointed out. She had probably seen the new Titan stores that had opened on the main road into the city. With criminally low wages and harsh working conditions, Levi didn’t understand why it was considered legal to have them open. He felt horrible for anyone who had to work there.

If he ever lost his store he would most likely end up having to apply to work there. He knew Isabel would probably offer him a job, but she could barely afford her current expenses, she could afford to support Levi too. “Yeah but fuck Titan.”

“Anyways, I thought you could use some flowers to help spruce up your store.” Isabel gestured to the flowers around her. There was enough around them to rival a florist’s personal garden. “I brought some of my lilies, roses, and lavender. They smell really good this year.”

“And people didn’t buy these?” Levi was hesitant to reach out and touch any of them. They were so beautiful but probably coated with pollen and dirt no matter how hard Isabel cleaned them.

“I don’t get it either, Lee,” Isabel sighed, “I really don’t. I’m worried I’m gonna have to sell the farm before I’m even forty.” She let her eyes wander around the old shop, before settling on staring out the window. “I wanted to retire on that farm-”

“-And watch the stars on the roof of the barn every night.” Levi finished her sentence, knowing exactly where she was going with it. It had been her dream since she was a child. Levi could remember when she used to use up entire boxes of crayons to draw out her future. She would often draw every animal she knew on her farm. He used to tell her that unicorns and giraffes didn’t belong on farms, but she didn’t care.

He was actually quite glad that she didn’t listen to him sometimes. It made their friendship, and more importantly their lives, more interesting. Levi was pretty sure that he had some of her drawings left in his apartment after all this time.

“I can’t talk about this right now,” She whispered. Levi could practically hear his own heart breaking at the sight. To see someone so optimistic be so depressed about the future was heart-wrenching.

“I think these are some of the best you’ve ever grown,” Levi praised, crouching down to get a better view of the foliage. Each petal was a simply gorgeous, lively color. Levi wasn’t quite sure how Isabel did it. If he was a sappier person, he would probably assume that Isabel simply puts a lot of love into her farming.

“I thought they would look really good on the tables or by the windows. It would go well with all the floral décor.” Isabel loved how Miss. Ackerman had made the place look, and she knew Levi tried to keep it more or less the same from when she ran it, but she could really see Levi’s touch mixing into the store over the years. It was honestly one of her favorite parts about visiting him. The changes were subtle, but just so… Levi.

“Yeah, I can spend some time putting these around the store.” Levi’s eyes flicked over to the tables and the windows, already imagining what they might look like. “I’ll go get my wallet.”

“Your wallet?” Isabel’s brows furrowed. “Oh, Levi no. You are not buying them.”

“I am,” Levi said, returning with his thin wallet in hand, “and I’m paying full price too.”

“Absolutely not.” Isabel folded her arms. She refused to even look as Levi pulled out some bills from his wallet.

“Take my fucking money, Isabel.” Levi opened his wallet, his stomach churned at how little he had on him.

“You can’t afford to give me this!” Isabel hissed and pushed his wallet back into his hands.

“And you can’t afford to not take this,” Levi argued. His face softened ever so slightly, knowing how close Isabel was to losing the farm at times. “Besides, business has been going a little better for me lately.”

“I’ll give them to you for half-price and a cup of tea,” Isabel bargained. She folded her arms, trying to look as steadfast and as stubborn as a stone.

Levi knew she was a pushover and met her midway. “Three-fourths of the price, a pot of tea, and a half pound tin of loose tea leaves.”

Isabel clenched her hands around her arms a little bit tighter. She tried to maintain her eye contact with Levi. She furrowed her brows and bit her lips. Levi didn’t react at all and stared her down. She sighed, knowing she could never win. “Fine.”

-  
There were flowers everywhere. There was no way he could squeeze in another damn petal into his store. People might mistake his shop for a goddamn bridal bouquet boutique. Each and every table had at least two handfuls of flowers. He placed a few in the bathroom, lined the windows with teapots with flowers pouring out of them. His register was surrounded by lilies. He was going to be pissed if the pollen got him sick.

But at least Levi felt like he was done.

He ran a hand through his hair before walking behind the counter to grab his clipboard to continue with inventory. He took a deep breath in before opening his storage closet. He flicked on the light switch and was greeted by the sight of even more roses, lilies, and lavender.

“Fuck,” Levi hissed, “Uh…” He had already forgotten that he had put them in there to make it easier to navigate the store. Levi glanced back out into the seating area. There was simply no more room for them. He couldn’t just let them sit and rot there. He could definitely dry some of the lavender and roses to make tea with, but what about the lilies?

The idea of selling them with tea came to mind, but who the fuck would buy flowers from a tea place? How would he even go about explaining that to his customers? And there was no way he could sell a gift from Isabel like that.

He had to give them to someone. There was only one other person he could try to push these many flowers onto.  
-

“Levi! Good morning!” Eren’s cheery voice could rival the singing birds outside. “I- ...whoa.” Eren’s eyes grew wide as Levi shuffled in through the door. His arms were burdened with several plastic bags full of flowers. The weight of them must have the plastic cutting into his forearms like knives. “Listen, I know last night wasn’t perfect at all, but this is-”

“Oh, shit, no. No, this isn’t about last night.” Last night ended tensely, and Levi most certainly didn’t enjoy their “dining experience”, but he wouldn’t give Eren a sea of flowers as an apology for such a tiny infraction. “A friend of mine has a flower farm in Rose. She stopped by and dropped off more of these shits than I know what to do with.”

“Why not put them around your store?” Eren suggested, rubbing the rose petals between his fingers. They were absolutely beautiful. Eren wasn’t sure if he had ever seen a flower look so absolutely perfect. They must have been grown and raised with a lot of attention.

“I already did.” Levi huffed as he put the bags down on Eren’s counter. He made a quick mental note to wipe down Eren’s counter before leaving.

“And this…” Eren gawked at the flowers covering his counter. “This what was left after all of that?”

“Yes.” Levi nodded, letting out a deep sigh.

“Holy Fuck…” Eren’s voice trailed off as he raised a hand and rubbed the back of his nape, “I could take a few off your hands.” He offered, shrugging ever so slightly.

“Do you want me to put them on the tables and shit?”

“That sounds lovely, Levi.” Eren smiled and let out a fond sigh. He still had a lot of organizing to do before he opened for the day, but he felt that he could spend a few minutes just watching Levi work. It was enchanting in a way. Levi was so methodical and efficient as he dished out the flowers onto the table. He was always so focused on whatever he was working on. He made everything he did look so effortless and simple.

And yes, Eren knew that putting flowers on the table was exactly that, but he still felt in awe of Levi. Eren felt his face flush ever so slightly when Levi turned to look at him. He smiled back at Levi before realizing that he must have been staring.

He quickly looked away from Levi and focused on the bouquet of lilies in front of him. They were so elegant, petite, yet very sturdy, much like the man in front of him. Eren carefully removed one from the bundle and brought it up to his nose and took a deep breath. It smelled like soft cloves, with a little touch of something Eren couldn’t quite name. It almost smelled like a freshly opened tin of tea.

Eren smiled fondly and put the lily in his apron’s front pocket.


	7. Cuddling

Eren’s eyes were drooping, he looked like he was mere moments from falling asleep. If he lingered here any longer, it wouldn’t be safe for him to drive home. “You should be heading out soon.”

“No, I’m good,” Eren grumbled, rubbing his eyes like a child. He planted his elbow on the table, resting his head in one hand.

“Eren.” Levi’s hand gently gripped Eren’s shoulder, rousing him from his daze.

“You still got work to do,” Eren gestured to the army of cleaning supplies lining Levi’s counter, “I’ll keep you company.”

“You need to go home rest, eat, shit, sleep…” Levi’s voice trailed off as he realized Eren probably wasn’t listening.

His theory was proven correct when Eren let out a breathy yawn. “I could stay here till midnight just talking to you.” His exhaustion distorted his words, slurring them together. His yawn made it almost melodic.

“I know you could, but you need to go get some sleep, dumbass. Your face looks terrible.”

“Thanks for caring.” Eren smiled into his hand, truly understanding what Levi was saying.

“Of course.” Levi nodded, helping Eren to his feet. He had to restrain himself from reaching up and ruffling Eren’s hair. There was something about Eren’s exhaustion that just made it look bedraggled yet divine. “Drive safe.”

“Goodnight, Levi.” Levi’s eyes softened as Eren pulled him into a tight embrace. He rested his own head on Levi’s using it to prop himself up, letting his eyes slip shut for a few moments. He took in a deep breath, letting it go as he pulled away from Levi.

Levi stood there, staring at Eren as he pushed open the glass door. Those familiar chimes announced his departure, snapping Levi out of his trance. He shook his head, realizing he had almost wasted his chance. Levi set down his porcelain cup and dashed out the door after Eren.

A cool night breeze greeted Levi as he yanked the door open. The chimes clattered loudly in response, disrupting the harmony of the night as if they were offended by Levi’s brash action. “Wait, Eren!”

“Yeah?” Eren turned, his car keys in his hands and a bemused smile on his face.

Levi opened his mouth, trying to think of the best way to ask Eren out. “Maybe tomorrow you could come over to my apartment.” Levi closed his eyes and took a breath through his nose, feeling his social awkwardness dripping from his vague offer.

“Like a date?” Eren chuckled, unlocking his car. His headlights responded by briefly lighting the alleyway with dim light. The light illuminated Eren from behind, making him look even more ethereal in Levi’s eyes.

Levi’s heart trembled, desperately wanting to reach out to Eren, but simply not knowing how. “Yeah, we can have dinner and shit too. Real domestic like.”

“I’d love that.” Eren grinned widely, opening his car door. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he promised before getting into his car.

Levi stood there as Eren drove off. He stood there for a few minutes even after the red lights of Eren’s car had already faded into the distance. Levi’s mind was blank, trying so hard to just think of something, anything. He found himself hopelessly thought in the sea of his thoughts of Eren. He knew he was thinking of Eren, but no tangible, solid thought emerged from his stupor.

Eventually, the cold evening air drew Levi back inside to finish up cleaning.

-

The insufferable blaring of Levi’s alarm clock started half an hour earlier than it usually did. Levi only opened one of his eyes, his other eye was crusted over shut as if the Sandman had only visited half his body last night. Levi rolled over onto his back, staring up at the ceiling.

The harsh screech of his clock prevented any true, cohesive thought from forming, but Levi was able to gather that he felt cold and that he wasn’t under the covers. However, putting those two facts together to realize he had passed out on top of his bed was simply out of his skill level at the moment.

All Levi could really think about was stopping whatever was yelling at him and disturbing his precious sleep. His fingers were numb from his short night of restless sleep, but they still managed to clench halfway into a fist. Levi relied on his instincts as he slammed onto the top of his alarm clock.

The clock shut off instantly, pulling a groan of relief out of Levi’s mouth. He rolled back over onto his side, looking at his room. As his sensations started to return, Levi felt dried saliva on his cheek. His disgust was enough to force his body to sit up. Back slouched over and he had to use his hands to prop him up.

He raised a hand to rub at the crust in his eye as he let out a silent yawn. With both eyes open, Levi started to feel himself starting to truly wake up.

Hopefully, he would have enough time to make himself look more presentable to Eren.

Levi’s feet dragged on his floor as he stumbled towards his closet. As he walked past his mirror he noticed that he was still wearing his apron from work. A grimace reflected on the glass as Levi pulled it over his head and tossed it into his daily laundry pile.

He had barely gotten any sleep before that brunet fell into his life. Now that Eren had pulled his moving van into Levi’s heart and started to move in, Levi felt like he was starting to run on fumes. But Levi couldn’t help but say it felt worth it.

-

Thankfully, Levi had managed to finish cleaning up the shop at a much more reasonable hour. He was just finishing drying the teacups and setting them in their cupboard. He had a spot for each and every cup, he could never trust anyone else to treat his mother’s cups like he did.

A familiar, lovely chime echoed throughout the store as Eren pushed the glass door open.

With yet another brown paper box under his arm and a bottle of wine in his hand, he smiled at Levi. “My, my, someone’s looking like a handsome devil today,” Eren smirked as he entered Levi’s tea shop at the end of the day. Levi just had to wear a tight button up with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Eren could see his biceps through the thin fabric. His muscles were just calling out for Eren to leave bite marks all over them, and he was finding it harder and harder to resist each day.

“You don’t look too bad yourself,” Levi appraised, his eyes sweeping over Eren’s figure.

A blush danced across Eren’s cheeks as Levi grabbed his keys off the counter. Levi made sure to lock the register and the storage closet before walking towards Eren. They walked out the front door in silence, strolling out to Eren’s car.

Levi was tempted to reach out and take Eren’s hand as they walked.

-

Eren initially tried to just let Levi cook their dinner on his own like he said he would, but eventually he just pushed himself into Levi’s kitchen and helped him with the alfredo sauce. And before Levi knew it, Eren had taken over making the pasta too. He even raided Levi’s pantry for ingredients for garlic bread. If the food wasn’t so damn good Levi would have been pissed.

They finished up their dinner with a glass of wine each and went into the living room to relax on the sofa together. Levi even teased Eren by turning on a random cooking channel.

“Oh my god, this show.” Eren’s eyes lit up as the familiar logo faded from the screen and transitioned to the simplistic theme music.

“Do you like it?”

“No, I fucking hate it.” Eren snarled as he sat down on Levi’s old sofa. His eyes were glued to the screen, preparing himself for the onslaught of terrible baking habits and shitty recipes.

“Then turn something else on,” Levi suggested, wringing the dishtowel in his hands nervously.

Eren shook his head and gestured for Levi to sit next to him. “No, it’s one of those things you love to hate.”

Levi nodded, understanding the feeling entirely. He sat down next to Eren in his usual seat on the left side of the sofa. There were several inches between him and Eren, the space felt uncomfortable and inorganic, but Eren was too busy watching the “professional” bakers and Levi was too awkward to do anything about it.

The show started off with a few simple guidelines for the dish and a whole lot of room for competitors to customize their own dishes and recipes. It seemed simple enough to Levi, but Eren kept pointing out the complexities of each ingredient and how they could only be successfully paired in a few different ways.

Eren was practically jumping out of his seat every time a contestant gave their ideas and reasonings for their own dishes. His face grew red as he yelled at them for their incompetence. It certainly added another layer of amusement for Levi.

At some point, Eren gave up sitting on the couch entirely and just started pacing around the room. He turned to Levi, detailing out the correct way to mix fruits and batter, pointing out every flaw of the contestants.

Levi leaned back on his couch, throwing an arm over the side and propping his feet up on the coffee table. He just gave a small bemused smile as Eren stomped around the living room. The passion and anger in Eren’s eyes was such a refreshing difference from people cowering around him or dismissing him. It seemed so perfectly genuine, so perfectly Eren.

Levi’s inexperience in the baking world prevented him from truly seeing the contestants’ flaws. In fact, in the eyes of a novice, their pastries looked immaculate. Perhaps Levi was biased, but Eren’s still looked far better than anything he had seen on this channel. “It looks-”

“Like he’s using too little fucking granulated sugar. He’s gonna make a cake drier than your sense of humor.” Eren remarked without even looking up at his boyfriend.

“Hey.” Levi narrowed his eyes, but his scowl didn’t affect Eren at all.

“Levi, look at this dumbass. He’s relying too much on measuring cups. You’ve got to feel it, dammit!” Eren ran his fingers through his hair, tugging at his roots. “Levi, you aren’t watching!”

When the commercial break finally came on, Eren took a moment to breathe, finally relaxing. He kept muttering under his breath as he sat back down next to Levi. Eren didn’t hold the same reservations that Levi had, and sat down next to him with only a centimeter of room between them.

“Did you work yourself up?” Levi chuckled as Eren’s head slid onto his chest. Levi’s hand came up to absentmindedly stroke Eren’s soft locks.

Eren let out a pleased little hum and let his eyes slip shut in the embrace, trying to mentally block out the obnoxious commercial on the screen. He focused on Levi’s gentle breathing, the slow rhythmic pace of his chest rising and lowering. The slow, constant beating of Levi’s heart lulled Eren back into a calm mind. “Maybe a little, but it’s a fun kind of annoyance.”

Levi’s brows furrowed, he kept his narrowed gaze on the television. The bright, primary lights reflected onto their faces, casting an unnatural glow in their eyes. “How can being annoyed be fun?”

“How can anger lead to creative acts?” Eren simply shrugged, leaving Levi at a loss for a reason.

“You tell me, kid.”

“Levi, are you not mad that your mother was taken away from you?” Eren asked bluntly, disrupting the calm atmosphere. “I know I am. It’s just not fair. It’s really not,” his voice wavered slightly. Is it not your bitterness that makes you keep your shop open? Your desire to keep her alive?” Eren looked up at Levi, his fingers had grown still in his hair. His brilliant green eyes burned into Levi’s, asking desperately for answers.

But Levi had none to give. “I don’t know, Eren. I don’t know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm almost halfway done with the month of love challenge, so this fic is gonna start wrapping up soon.


	8. Comfort

It was well past closing time. Levi kept glancing up at the front door, keeping his ear out for the ever-familiar chime of Eren coming in for their nightly tea and talk session. Every now and then Eren took a little bit longer to close up and come in, but he had never stayed in his own shop this late. Levi was growing worried.

Nothing calmed Levi’s nerves quite like cleaning. In his attempts to steady his nerves, Levi found himself done with his after-hours work. Now he had nothing to distract himself from the painfully empty store.

Noise used to be the bane of Levi’s existence. His near constant migraines from sleep deprivation could send him into a sensory overload if someone so much as clinked porcelain together too loudly. But Eren was noisy, and he was noisy in a peculiarly good way. Noisy in a comforting way. Levi didn’t understand it.

The only noise in his tea room was the sound of his own footsteps on the tile as he paced back and forth by the windows. He felt like a fool for waiting on Eren like a loyal hound dog, but he couldn’t help it.

Eren was a damn adult and he could take care of himself, he didn’t need to check in with Levi. But if Levi left before Eren tried to come visit him, would he be hurt? It wasn’t like Levi would be able to go home and sleep like any other normal human being anyways, he might as well just stay here and wait for him.

But what if Eren had already left?

The thought suddenly came to Levi. The thought almost made him relieved. That poor kid needed some good rest. He was fresh from college and probably had little sleep there, but Levi was sure that he was getting worse sleep now. Running a business like this was never truly easy.

He could just go check in on Eren, couldn’t he? There was no stated rule that only Eren could come over to his shop. Maybe he was waiting to see if Levi would join him in his store.

The uncertainty was killing Levi.

Deciding that checking in on Eren was the best course of action, he grabbed his set of keys and shut off the lights. Only the dim lights of the smoke detector and fire alarm lit up the building as Levi stepped out into the peculiarly warm night. A gentle breeze of spring air danced in his hair as he pushed the key into the outer lock of the door and turned it. He pocketed the key and glanced down the street at Carla’s old bakery. The front lights were shut off and the closed sign had been flipped over, but inside it looked like Eren was still at work.

Levi’s brows furrowed and glanced down at his watch. It was going on midnight shortly. What the fuck could Eren have been working on for six hours now?

Levi’s hand gripped the door handle. He stayed standing there, looking through the window, trying to see if Eren was in the kitchen. He could see the back of Eren’s head through the kitchen doors, but that was about it. Levi pulled open the door, setting off the little bells hanging above him.

Despite the noise, Eren didn’t seem to respond, making Levi’s anxiety swell. “Eren?”

“Kitchen!” He called out, still not looking up from his work.

If the delicious smell was anything to go by, Eren was still baking. Levi wasn’t particularly good at picking out scents, but it smelled like cake more than anything else. As he pushed the large kitchen doors open, he realized that he was half right.

Cupcakes were everywhere. Eren had them stacked on all of his cooling racks, all over his counters, on top of the refrigerator, and a few were even placed on the shelf above the sink. There had to be hundreds surrounding them.

Eren was fluttering between each of them, perfectly icing each of them in one motion. The half that was iced had perfect swirls on top. The swirl curved off into a little hook at the top, Eren must have practiced this for months to be this good so consistently.

Despite being surrounding by perfect pastries, Eren looked more frustrated than Levi had ever seen him. “Levi, not now,” he sighed, before quickly grabbing another prepared piping bag. “I’ll pop in tomorrow morning to talk, but I don’t even have time to take a piss break.”

“The hell’s going on?” Levi asked, stepping further into the kitchen, his eyes wandering over the rainbow of sugar around him.

“Some ass called in and placed an order for half a thousand cupcakes. And I told him, ‘Yeah, I can do that for you, how many days from now do you need them?’” Eren held a hand up to his face, mimicking a phone conversation. “And he was like ‘we need them by tomorrow morning.’ What an asshole!”

Levi let out a deep breath, sensing Eren’s tension and anxiety radiating off of him. “Can I help at all?”

“Can you bake?” Eren asked, still not even taking a moment to look up at his boyfriend.

Levi fidgeted for a moment, before sighing. “Not really.”

“Then you can help by leaving,” Eren sighed, “I’m sorry, but I’m about to lose it and I don’t want to snap at you more.”

Levi understood all too well. If he couldn’t help he might as well just leave. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Gorgeous, flawless cupcakes lined each and every cooling rack Eren had. The brilliant, bright icing made them stand out even more against the plain brick walls of the kitchen. Eren had struggled to find enough room to place them all without spilling over into the main eating area.

To anyone else, the smell would have been absolutely magnificent. To Eren, the smell was sickening. Working day in and day out with sugary confections made him feel disgusted by anything with more than half a spoonful of sugar.

Perhaps that’s why Levi’s tea was so appealing. There was such a natural, robust flavor in Levi’s tea that was so soothing to him. It allowed him to take a break from constantly taste checking fruit pastries or chocolate lace.

Eren wiped an icing stained hand across his forehead, smearing the pink sugary covering into his brows and pores. He just needed to try and remember to wash it off tonight.

His eyes were half way shut, a yawn tumbling from his mouth every few moments. Eren wanted to feel relieved and done more than anything else, but the knowledge that he needed to do the dishes made him want to just fall onto the cold tiled floor. Eren resisted the desire to rub his eyes, he didn’t need to get icing in his eye and irritate himself further.

Eren’s eyes flickered over to the baking pans. He considered reaching out and just tossing them into the sink with the rest of the dishes, but they were probably still too hot to clean off. Which would mean that he would either have to wait for them to cool before cleaning them, or he would have to come back and clean them off in the morning. In the morning, they would have batter and icing crusted over, making it much harder to clean.

Neither of those sounded ideal. He decided to just figure it out after he was done washing the rest of the dishes. Maybe he wouldn’t feel so fucking tired afterwards.

Eren groaned as he tied his apron a little bit tighter. He reached his hands up to the sky, hearing the delightful cracking of his joints. He rolled his head against his shoulders, trying to wake himself up a little as he turned on the faucet to start the pre-wash.

He left the batter bowls to soak in the warm, soapy water. Hopefully the detergent would cut through the mixture as he worked on other, more difficult dishes.

The butter dishes had always been his least favorite to clean up. The soap never cut through the grease and slime that accumulated on them, they had to be completely hand washed. Eren grimaced as he picked up the largest butter bowl.

He wished butter wasn’t so necessary in cooking. It made food divine, but at what cost? The disgusting, slimy feeling of water and butter between his feelings almost made him bend over the sink and start heaving.

He could feel his mother’s ring on his finger starting to move a little bit as he swished water around the bowl, it made him anxious and he quickly pushed the ring back over his knuckle before it could fall off.

The clatter of metal hitting the bottom of the sink made him realize he was quite wrong. He looked down just in time to see his mother’s ring roll down the drain.

Time seemed to go horrifically slow as fear and shock paralyzed him. He must have been standing there, staring at the water running down the drain for several seconds before he realized that this wasn’t just a nightmare.

“No, no, no, no!” Eren wailed, dropping the mixing bowl. He could feel the filthy water inside of it splash against the back of his legs, soaking his cloths and making his tiled floor a hazard. But he couldn’t bring himself to care. “Please, no!” He whimpered, desperately plunging his hand down the drain. He hoped, he pleaded for her ring to still be there. “Mom, I’m sorry.” The piping was too narrow for his fingers to reach more than a few inches in. “I’m… so sorry.”

Maybe a plumber could help him, surely only a professional could help him. He opened his mouth, but only a desperate whimper came out. There was no way a plumber was available half past midnight, and there was no way they could understand him through his blubbering. He still pulled out his phone anyways.

The tears blurred his vision, making it nearly impossible to read anything in his phone. He just stared at the screen blankly, whimpering, begging for some kind of guidance. His thumb hovered over Levi’s number. Before he really even knew what he was doing, he pressed his thumb against the call button, smearing watery butter on his screen.

He held the phone up to his ear, growing more and more frustrated and hopeless with each ring. His legs slowly gave out underneath him, his back against the wall as he slid down to sit on the floor. It was still wet from the mixing bowl he dropped earlier, but that was the least of his problems. He looked up at the ceiling, his head coming to rest against the sink’s cabinets.

Tears were freely streaming down Eren’s face when he finally heard Levi’s familiar voice through the line. “What is it, Eren? Do you need help after all?” His familiar teasing voice was of small relief, but it held a truth that Eren wished it didn’t.

He opened his mouth to try and explain, but all that stumbled out of his mouth were broken syllables, and a few croaking sobs. It only served to make Eren feel more pathetic and useless. He couldn’t even fucking talk about what just happened.

“What?” Levi asked, fear starting to seep into his monotone voice.

Eren could only whimper in reply, giving up entirely on actually being able to verbalize. He just needed to hear Levi’s voice. He just needed some kind of life line to hold on to.

“Are you hurt?” Levi asked, trying to get any information from Eren “What happened?”

Eren gave up trying to say anything intelligible and just started to openly bawl. He covered his eyes with his forearm and just wished that he could wake up in bed to find this was all a figment of his imagination.

Eren didn’t even hear Levi say, “I’ll be there in five minutes, hang in there.” His phone slipped out of his hand a few moments later, clattering to the floor. Eren just sat there on the cold, wet tiles crying into his arm as Levi sped down the road back to their little street. Eren barely noticed him storming into the building, but he could feel Levi pull him into his arms and hold him close.


	9. Hands/Touch

After the loss of Carla’s ring, Levi found himself coming over to Eren’s bakery after hours more and more often. Eren seemed to feel a little bit more stressed when alone in his shop these days. The least Levi could do to ease his nerves was to help him clean up and organize each night.

Once Eren was done with his own chores, he stood in the middle of his kitchen just watching Levi work, wondering what to do with himself. He was starting to feel so lost in his mother’s bakery.

He knew she would always be with him, but losing her ring made her feel so painfully distant from him. His eyes flicked over to his cabinet of cookbooks. His hands twitched at this side as he considered looking into her cookbook for guidance.

His hesitation was probably only hurting him more. He just needed to try something, anything to get himself out of this rut. Eren’s fingers lingered over the handle on the cupboard door, before pulling it open. His organization of his books had changed over the years, his collection had grown, but the placement of her cookbook was always the same. 

“Is that what I think it is?” Levi asked, stopping his frantic mopping for a few moments. His eyes were focused on the fine leather, recognizing the handwriting on the outside.

“This was my mother’s first cookbook,” Eren nodded, carefully pulling it down from the shelf, letting it rest on the clean counters. “It’s the dearest thing I own,” he all but whispered to himself, his hand running over the cover slowly, feeling the familiar depressions and dents.

“You’ve taken care of it well,” Levi hummed, before resuming cleaning. His eyes flicked up to the book every now and then, curiosity brimming in his silver eyes.  
“That means a lot coming from you, Levi,” Eren smiled gently. His praise eased his nerves if only for a moment. When the tips of his fingers curled underneath the sturdy cover, he felt unsure of himself once more. “Could you… Could you steady my hands as I hold it?” Eren looked over to Levi, his hands hovering above the book, hesitant to even touch it. “I can’t ruin this too.”

Eren’s fear pulled violently on Levi’s heartstrings, pity filled Levi’s eyes, but he did not step any closer. “You’re not going to ruin it, Eren,” he reassured him.

As much as Eren desperately wanted to believe Levi, his anxiety made it so easy to think otherwise. “Please, Levi,” he begged, his voice wavering ever so slightly.

Levi sighed, resting his mop against the brick wall. He placed his hands over Eren’s. His hands were so warm against Levi’s naturally cold skin. Levi swallowed as he felt a slight blush spread across his face. “There, better?”

Eren only nodded, his hands trembling slightly underneath Levi’s long, elegant, calloused fingers. He lifted up the front cover, slowly pushing it onto the counter, letting the pages open on their own, falling into their own natural divisions. Recipes of candies, pastries, pies, and cakes flipped by, just begging to be made. But Eren had made so many of these before, he needed something new. He needed something different.

Eren had looked through this precious testament to his mother’s career enough times to know which exact page was coming up. He tried to quickly pass by it, but the bright colors and scribbled drawings caught Levi’s attention.

“What’s this?” He murmured, turning the page back before they moved on too far.

“No, Levi, don’t look,” Eren whined, trying to push Levi’s hand away.

“What?” Levi asked, furrowing his brows before returning to the crayon covered page.

At the top of the page was a crude drawing of a stick figure with an apron and a chef’s hat. The lines weren’t straight, and the hat and the apron were drawn after the figure, still showing the lines underneath. Beneath it was a misspelled, barely intelligible recipe for “the best cake ever”. “Did you… Did you make this?”

Eren’s face grew flushed and heated, he lowered his eyes to the ground, not looking into Levi’s eyes. “I was, like, six, okay?” He remembered this drawing very clearly. He had made it the first time Carla took him to visit the bakery. He took breaks from trying to steal cookies by trying to create a recipe for his mom to make. He used to brag that it would become her bestselling desert.

A grin spread across Levi’s face, a feeling of unfamiliar peace shortly followed. “That’s fucking adorable.”

“Half of those ingredients aren’t even real!” Eren groaned, wishing he could have made a little bit more reasonable, realistic child. It would really have cut down on embarrassing memories and situations later. But he wouldn’t have grown up to become the person he was, would he?

“Do you mind if I take a picture of it?” Levi asked, his hand already digging into his pocket to pull out his phone.

“Go ahead, you ass,” Eren sighed. He knew Levi wouldn’t use the picture for ill, but the nervousness that lay in his heart made him feel uncomfortable about it.

Levi rested his head against Eren’s shoulder as they turned the pages together. Eren could feel his heart starting to beat faster, but his nervousness seemed to melt into nothingness in Levi’s embrace. It felt like he could finally breathe for the first time in ages. It felt like the agonizing heat of the ovens had finally calmed and he could just be himself.

The cold evening air entered the bakery through a nearby open window. It helped to entice customers with decadent scents drifting out, and it helped cooled off the room from the smoldering ovens.

A gentle gust of wind danced in the embroidered curtains on either side of the window before entering the rest of the kitchen. The wind played with the pages of the cookbook, turning them for Eren and Levi before coming to rest on a bread recipe.

It was one that Carla rarely ever made. A simple, savory, braided bread molded in the shape of a heart for Valentine’s day. It wasn’t terribly popular during a holiday season centered around chocolates and sweets. Eren couldn’t even remember his mother making it for him.

“This.” Eren’s hands rested on either side of the page, preventing the breeze from turning the pages any more. “I want to make this.”

“Because the wind told you to?” Levi raised a brow. He had to admit, some nice buttered, fresh bread did sound immaculate right now.

“I’m tired of making sweets, Levi,” he all but whined, “I wanna make some nice bread.”

“Half of these instructions are just vague estimations.” Levi’s brows furrowed. “A pinch of salt? Two to Three cups of bread flour?”

“I’ll be able to sense what to use,” Eren shrugged, silently reading through the instructions, “Don’t you estimate what to use with your teas?”

“No. Why would I do that?” Levi’s brows furrowed deeper as Eren stepped out of his embrace and opened a nearby cupboard.

“But you understand tea inside and out, right?” Eren grabbed one of his folded aprons off the shelves. Holding it up to check for stains, tears, or other imperfections. “So you should try to just trust your senses and feel what you need to do.”

“It’s different when you’re working with boiling water, Eren.”

“Is it?” Eren let out a chuckle, pulling his apron over his head.

 

Levi rolled his eyes and glanced back at the recipe. “So, what’s the first step?”

“I’ll preheat the oven, why don’t you start collecting these ingredients?” Eren gestured vaguely to the other side of the kitchen.

“Alright.” Levi nodded and opened the pantry doors. He learned where the pantry was the first time he helped Eren clean. They always had a shitty habit of opening up on their own, he spent at least ten minutes the first day constantly closing them. When he pulled them open further, he let out a groan at the disorderly sight that lay before him.

Racks of spices that used to be perfectly lined up were stacked wherever there was space. There were bags of flour on the floor and on the top shelves. Random tubs of sugar weren’t grouped together. Levi could see the heavier items that could have been easily left on the floor starting to dent the upper shelves. There were several jars without proper labeling. “You need to organize your shit, Eren. How do you know where shit is?”

“I don’t sometimes.” He shrugged, turning a few dials on the oven.

“Eren, what the fuck.” Levi pinched the bridge of his nose. “How can you run a place like this like that?” Levi picked up an unlabeled container, shaking its contents and trying to guess what was inside. “Fuck it. I’m closing shop early, so I can come in and reorganize this shiftiest.”

Eren sighed, knowing that there wasn’t anything he could do to stop Levi. He wished Levi would focus on making a profit for himself and keep his own tea shop open.  
-  
“Next we need to knead the dough.” Eren smiled, placing a large ball of dough in front of Levi. Levi raised a brow, looking back and forth between the dough and Eren. He didn’t do anything until Eren gestured for him to start kneading it.

Levi shrugged, having absolutely no experience with this. He curled his fingers into his palm and plunged his fist into the dough. The air bubbles trapped inside escaped a little, causing it to deflate slightly under his force.

“Levi, you can’t knead bread like that!” Eren’s hand laid on top of Levi’s uncurling his fingers. “You’re just punching it!”

“Then show me.” Levi pulled his hand out of the dough, allowing Eren to move his hand and teach him. The sticky dough followed his fingers and left small pieces of itself in between his fingers. “You’re the baker here, not me.”

“Okay, so you’re gonna wanna, um, move your hands like this.” Eren moved Levi’s hands to the side of the dough furthest from them. He curled Levi’s fingers underneath it until Levi understood that he needed to grab it. They pulled the dough towards them, folding it on top of itself. The flour underneath the dough puffed up with each movement, coating the bottom of it entirely. It slowly but surely started to get on their fingers as well, but somehow, Levi didn’t seem to mind.

Eren had both of his arms around Levi as they worked together, his head was hovering just above his shoulder. His voice was low and soothing as he whispered instructions into Levi’s ear. The only thing that wasn’t perfect about it was that Eren seemed a little bit fidgety behind Levi. He had assumed it was just Eren’s nerves, but when he felt something hard poking him from behind, he changed his mind.

A smirk tugged at the corner of Levi’s mouth. “Is that a rubber spatula in your pocket or are you just-”

“Oh, I forgot to take this out of my apron, sorry.” Eren chuckled, pulling away from Levi. Levi glanced back and indeed saw that Eren only had a large wooden spoon in his front pocket. Levi’s face fell a little. He let out a sigh through his nose before returning to work on the dough.

“What?” Eren smiled, embracing Levi from behind once more. “Don’t worry Levi, we can get there soon enough.”

Levi bit his bottom lip, his smirk returned to his face.


	10. Commitment

“Isabel, I’m not in the mood for this,” Levi groaned, trying to finish locking up the cabinets. He had finally taken Eren’s advice to close up shop early every once in a while to take a break. Eren’s bakery had created enough interest in their area that Levi could actually afford a few hours to himself without worrying about the future of his mother’s store. He did not need this precious escape to be ruined by Isabel’s adventurous appetite.

“Are you ever in the mood for it?” Levi was sure she couldn’t have whined anymore.

“Does that really matter?” He sighed, double checking, triple checking his cleaning job. He could practically hear Eren’s voice in his head telling him that it was fine.

“What’s so bad about the outside?” Isabel gestured to the main window, framed by delicate white lace. The sun was setting later and later, the sky was the same brilliant blue for longer and longer. The smell of fresh rain and dew greeted anyone who stepped outside. Animals were reawakening from their winter hibernation. The birds were sweetly singing to their chicks. Flowers were blooming in the cracks in the sidewalk, covering the entire city in flecks of color.

Levi turned up his nose, “It’s fucking disgusting out there.”

“Come on,” Isabel whined louder, disproving Levi’s original theory. “You need the fresh air.”

“I have fresh tea.” Levi picked up his travel mug from the counter. His rough, calloused hands were soothed by the heat that seeped into his hands. He let out a pleased sigh as he brought the beverage up to his mouth, taking in a deep breath through his nose. He savored the all too familiar smell of Earl Grey tea. “That’s all I need.”

“Levi, please! I just wanna go to our old lane.” Isabel stood in front of him as he walked out from behind the counter. The old lane was a small little street on the outskirts of town. During the summer droughts, the storm drains used to be almost completely dry, turning the sewers into places just begging to be explored by children.

Levi didn’t even want to know how much of his mother’s water bill was just Levi trying to take showers to get rid of the smell. In his defense, it was never his idea to go into the sewer. He always suggested playing in the field directly across the street.

“We haven’t been there in nearly fifteen years, Isabel,” Levi sighed, pushing past her gently.

“I know! Isn’t that sad?” She argued, walking next to him as he stepped out of his store.

“We stopped going after you got bitten by a rat.” Levi pointed out as he fished his keys out of his pocket.

“It wasn’t that bad.” Isabel closed the door behind herself, stepping out of Levi’s way.

Levi raised a brow, “You had to be hospitalized after your bite got infected.”

“That’s natural,” She shrugged, without a single care in the world.

“Farlan and I thought you had rabies.”

Isabel threw her hands up in defeat. “Alright, so maybe it wasn’t our best moment, but it was far from our worst.”

“I really hate that that’s true,” he groaned, finally putting his key in the lock. He pulled it out as soon as he heard the telltale click.

“So, what do you say?”

“To what?” Levi pocketed his key, continuing to walk down the street towards his car.

“To going out to hang by the old sewer!”  
“Isabel.” Levi stopped walking but did not turn to look at her. “I am a thirty-two-year-old man with a full-time job, a stable relationship-”  
“So, what?” She huffed. “Just because you’re old and cranky doesn’t mean that we can’t relive our childhood while we still have the chance.”  
Levi pinched the bridge of his nose, knowing she wouldn’t leave him alone till he gave in. “Why are we even friends?”  
-  
It was just their luck that the seasonal rains had returned during their drive over to “the old lane”. Levi only had one umbrella in the backseat for himself, but Isabel was happy to frolic out in the elements without it. Levi pulled on a spare pair of rubber boots, not allowing his loafers to get an ounce of filth on them.

Isabel rushed out of the car before it fully stopped moving. She was going to give Levi a heart attack someday. The yellowed lights of the car’s headlights cast an ethereal glow onto the flowing stream of sewage. However, the whimsical and nostalgic appearance faded once Levi turned his car off. He refused to waste his battery on this stupid bullshit.

Perhaps their childhood memories had mingled with fantasies to repaint everything in a brighter light, but Levi knew that things just looked bad by the sewer. Graffiti tags were sloppily scrawled all over the concrete tubes. Litter was strung on tree branches like piss-poor decorations. The plants were overgrown, desperately trying to reclaim the land that used to belong to mother nature. “Somehow, I didn’t expect the sewer to get worse.”

“This is way more depressing than I thought it would be,” Isabel agreed.

Levi opened up his umbrella, lifting it over his head. “What the actual fuck did you think this little ‘adventure’ was going to be like.”

“I don’t know, like the good days?” She rubbed the back of her neck, looking around the entire area. Her childhood memories seemed so alive and so dead at the same time. She recognized a similar dip in the sidewalk, worn away by the near-constant presence of water. Grinning wildly, she tugged Levi over to it. “Remember when you went swimming down there?” Isabel chuckled, walking far too close to the water’s edge. Well, if you could call it water anymore.

“I wouldn’t call it ‘swimming’.” Levi accompanied his mocking tone with finger quotes. “Farlan pushed me in.”

“Man, I miss those days,” Isabel smiled, completely missing Levi’s disgusted view on that day.

Levi was about to grumble back at her when a large droplet of water on his nose startled him. His eyes glanced up to notice a rather sizeable hole in his umbrella. “Fuck,” Levi hissed, turning the umbrella to the side, letting the water drip next to him rather than on him.

As much as Levi took good care of his possessions, he wasn’t too surprised when they started to show wear and tear. This umbrella had to be a decade old at this point. And the boots he was wearing? He had them since freshman year of high school. He never outgrew them.

Levi took a step back from the unstable concrete, looking at the sidewalk next to it. There was no way he was just going to stand there for however long Isabel wanted to stay outside. He stepped down into the street, the cold water trying desperately to get into his boots. Levi sat down on the edge of the curb, facing away from Isabel, his umbrella slung over his shoulder.

“Oh, come on, Levi, don’t just be a stick in the mud!” Isabel whined.

The water steadily showered through the hole above him, landing on the curb. It splattered against the hard concrete, landing flecks of water on Levi’s leg. Hopefully, the rainwater wasn’t as disgusting as the water swirling around his boots. The filth and dirt danced in the water, tainting it, painting it a rustic brown. Levi, of course, had no desire to truly imagine what could be in the water to make it that color.

A few leaves that had managed to stick around since last fall floated down the gutter. When Isabel was younger, she used to insist that bugs would use leaves as boats to go on wild adventures. Her vivid imagination left her quite miserable with how their own adventures usually went. They usually ended too quickly with Levi complaining too much about the dirt or being tired or being hungry or…

A quiet sigh tumbled out of Levi’s mouth. “That’s just who I am.” Perhaps he was the real reason why Isabel wasn’t happy with how their childhoods turned out. Maybe he really should have just went along with her fantasies a little bit more. Maybe he himself would have been happier in the long run if he had.

Levi propped his head upon his hand. His elbow dug into his leg. His back was hunched over, trying to make his neck more comfortable, but it just made his hips sorer. His ass was wet, it smelled awful here, he could feel the cold spring morning seeping into his bones. He was miserable.

Levi’s eyes lowered to the water rushing by, realizing that he was just as much of a damper on Isabel’s imagination as anything else. He was a shitty friend for her sometimes, but he did provide a source of balance and stability for her, even if he himself couldn’t see that.

As the sun parted through the clouds ever so slightly, a shimmering in the water next to him caught his eye. Some small piece of metal had gotten caught on his boot, preventing it from continuing down the filthy flow of the gutter.

Levi could hear Isabel, a grown woman, stomping around in the sewage water behind him as he tried to get a better look at the piece of trash. It was small, barely noticeable underneath the stream of leaves, dirt, and bits of plastic. Levi was always a curious person, constantly asking mental questions about his surroundings, but he wasn’t one to just shove his hand into sewage to pick up something.

Chances were, it probably was a simple bottle cap. It was about the same shape and size. But there was something about it that made Levi know it was something more than that. His fingers twitched against his cheek as he started to feel his palm pressing too hard against his jaw.

Something inside of him was just begging him to reach out and grab whatever the hell it was. Levi lifted his head from his hand, leaving a red, but quickly fading, dent on his palm. He glanced over at Isabel, enjoying the nature around her. It was tainted by humanity’s filth and despair, but she still managed to find peace within it. Levi simply couldn’t understand it.

There was a courage about Isabel. She carried herself with pride and enthusiasm as she traipsed around in mud and manure. There was no way in hell Levi could do that on a daily basis. He was surprised she didn’t get sick more often.

Levi let out another sigh, before steeling himself up. He glanced down at the glittering piece of trash before closing his eyes. He quickly plunged his fingers into the few inches of water beneath him. The sudden exposure to the cold sent a shiver up his arm, he almost retracted it instantly, but he kept his nerve. His fingers brushed against the coarse concrete as he tried to find the piece of metal.

As soon as Levi felt his fingers brush against something smooth and hard, he tried to hook his fingers around it. He was surprised to feel that there was some kind of hole in the middle, making it easier to grab.

He almost dropped the item as he pulled it out of the water. The slime, sludge, and sewage that coated it made it almost unrecognizable as Levi peaked his eyes open to look at it. It was a ring. He could see the gold glinting underneath the grime. The tainted water betrayed the precious gemstones’ beauty, but Levi could still recognize the spiraled pattern of sapphire, topaz, and emerald.

It took a short, brief moment before Levi’s mind made the connection. He had seen this ring so many, many times. He had seen this ring hand him pastries when he was a small child. He had seen this ring help his mother run the tea shop after hours. He had seen this ring pinch his cheek and ruffle his hair.

It was Carla’s ring.

He needed to give this to Eren immediately, he thought as a glob of unidentifiable filth dripped from the ring. Although he was sure that a sense of symbolism would not be lost on Eren if he were to do so. He needed to clean it. He needed to return this memento of his mother in a pristine condition. Maybe then, Eren would be reassured that he truly was as good of a bakery as Levi knew he was.

Levi got a tight hold on the ring before dipping it back into the water. He swished it back in forth, hoping to dislodge the larger clumps of dirt from the engravings. Levi pulled the ring back out, a little bit happier with its state, but still quite disgusted by the sight of it.

He needed to get to work on it right away. He would clean it for years if he had to.

“I’ll see you later, Isabel,” Levi quietly mumbled as he rose to his feet.  
“Levi?” Isabel’s head turned, her pockets full of some of the wildflowers that were blooming by the entrance of the sewer pipe. A nervous smile stretched across her face as she waved goodbye to her older friend. “I’ll, uh, see you later!” She called out to him.


	11. Reciprocation

Levi groaned as he bent over to dust his mother’s old journals. The dim light of the closet flickered above him, reminding him he needed to call his landlord to get the fuse box looked at. Nothing ever seemed to just stop for Levi.

His annoyed disposition faded away as quickly as it came when he looked down at his mother’s pristine writing. He had never allowed an ounce of dust to accumulate on the old books. He never opened them to read them, he never believed they were his to read. But, he would be damned if he didn’t keep his mother’s possessions in decent shape.

His gloves, slick with window cleaner barely managed to catch the journal. He fumbled the journal, sending it tumbling to the ground. Levi’s body went rigid as he heard the spine of the book hit the tiled floor. Surely the sturdy leather binding could survive such a short fall, but it was still upsetting to see something so dear to his mother on the floor.

The journal had fallen open, leaving several over Kuchel’s later entries visible. Levi’s calloused, rough hands gently cradled the book. He picked it up, somberly looking at her ever familiar handwriting. Her small, formal script sent a sharp pang through Levi’s heart as his fingers brushed against the dried ink.

This was not his to read, but, he felt as though he simply couldn’t just let the journals linger around forever. They held his mother’s life story, her hopes, her dreams. Maybe it was time for him to start looking back on her life as Eren did his own mother.

Levi’s curious eyes swept over her entries, eventually focusing on a particular entry to read.

“This haven of tea and tranquility is beyond important to me. I just hope it carries half as much significance in Levi’s heart. He is one of the only people I could trust to take over when I’m gone.”

One of the only? Who else would his mother trust to treat their wares with the respect they so naturally deserved.

“I know that Carla shares a similar devotion to both our friendship and our businesses. If Levi were to go off to pursue a dream of his own, I would want nothing more than for Carla to simply merge our two fronts together.”

Levi’s eyes widened, recalling his first date with Eren. If he had just read this a few months earlier… He shook his head, dwelling on the inactions of the past wouldn’t help him. He said he would think on Eren’s offer, and he had. Sure, it would have been easier to just accept Eren’s offer earlier on, but this was just how fate had decided this would work out.

Perhaps there was a happy medium between Eren’s reverence and Levi’s respectful isolation. He read on, making sure that there wasn’t any other crucial dream Levi had missed.

“Fresh scones and tea sounds like a match made in heaven. Not to mention it would be so delightful to work with her day in and day out. There was always something about the way Carla worked, she moved with the grace of a swan and the beauty of a dove. I would have stayed by her side forever if she had asked me to.”

Levi feared how descriptive his mother’s romantic feelings could get. He quickly, yet gently shut the old journal. Levi promised himself that he would return to look at the rest of the entries later. Maybe reawakening memories of her would help him to keep running her store.

There was nothing Levi wanted more than to just take a break from cleaning the closet. He just needed a moment to relax. Levi couldn’t think of a better way to relax than to start cleaning something else instead.

He walked down his short, cramped hallway to his bedroom. He picked up a new pair of cleaning gloves off of his dresser before sitting down at his desk. He pulled the tight plastic over his fingers, used to the way it awkwardly clung to his wrist and bunched up around his knuckles.

The harsh lights glared down upon the ring. It was held in place by a few clamps. A magnifying glass was secured just above the ring, letting Levi get a better view of the metal engravings. He had to be sure that every speck of filth was dislodged.

The gemstones had been a nightmare to clean. Filth and sludge had made its home deep within the gaps between the metal and jewels. His smallest brushes struggled to get so much as a single bristle between them. It took Levi a combination of struggling to dislodge the filth with a small brush and trying to shake violently shake the small particles out of it.

 

Levi spent a good half hour, looking over every millimeter of metal and jewel. He had to make sure that it was absolutely perfect before figuring out how to give it back to his boyfriend. It was glimmering and bright under the glaring lights around him, not even a fleck of dust tainted its beauty.

He had been cleaning this for months now. He was struggling to find time to sleep, go out with Eren, clean up his own apartment, work, and clean every single detail of the ring.

It had to be perfect when he gave it back to Eren. It just had to be.

Levi had lost the ability to hand it to Eren now without it being during a significant moment. How could he just hand it over and say, “Oh that ring you were heartbroken over for months? Yeah, I found it a week later and didn’t tell you.” He would look like such a piece of shit. Even now, his perfectionism and tight schedule was putting a strain on getting it back to Eren in a reasonable amount of time. He might as well plan on waiting a while and propose to Eren with it.

Levi leaned back in his chair, letting his brush fall out of his hands and flicked off the brilliant lights. His eyes were relieved and he rubbed them to try and soothe them further. Levi’s phone rested on his dresser, the screen was cold and dark. He rarely texted anyone, Eren being the only exception.

Levi’s fingers twitched at his sides, considering whether or not he just needed to tell Eren about this. About the ring, about his mother’s journals, about how Eren was the only person Levi could ever trust to run his own store.

Levi sighed and stood up. He needed to tell Eren something at least.

Words and questions ran through Levi’s mind as his finger hovered over the call button. He could just let things stay the same, he kinda liked how their stores had a lovely symbiotic relationship. They were both faring much better now. What if this plan would ruin what they had? What if their romance fizzled out sooner rather than later and Levi was stuck running a store with someone he had an awkward relationship with? What if people preferred separate stores? What if? What if?

Before Levi could doubt himself further, he pressed the call button. Each ring of the phone grated on Levi’s nerves, pressuring him to just hang up the phone and just carry on. Before Levi could do anything, Eren’s voice broke through the static and gave Levi a cheery greeting.  
“Did you still want to merge our stores?” Levi asked, his steady monotone voice masked the anxious mess he was on the inside.

Eren was startled into silence, expecting Levi to say almost anything other than that. The silence felt comfortable on Eren’s end, but tense on Levi’s. His heart thundered in his chest as Eren considered Levi’s words. “I would love that so, so much, Levi.”

“Meet me early tomorrow morning, we’ve got a lot to talk about.” Levi’s mouth felt so dry, his tongue paralyzed as he tried to mention that he had found Carla’s ring. He heard Eren give a gentle goodbye before hanging up. Levi ran his fingers through his hair, his hand trembling ever so slightly. Whey was it so fucking hard to just say that he found the small trinket? Why was this as difficult as pulling out teeth?

He let his phone slip out of his hand onto his bed, landing silently. Levi leaned back letting himself fall onto the mattress, hearing the horrendous squeaking of his worn, tired mattress. He needed to rest tonight, they had a lot to do tomorrow. But Levi knew that sleep would escape him tonight as a constant barrage of questions and worries would haunt him.  
-  
They had consulted a local contractor about taking down the wall separating their stores. Thankfully, there didn’t seem to be any vital plumbing or wiring hidden in the brick wall, so it should be a very simple, inexpensive job.

They were planning to wait until late summer before closing for refurbishments. August and September were typically Levi’s slowest months. But autumn was just around the corner, ready to bring in frigid weather and a craving for sweets. They had to be ready to open before October, they just had to be.

Levi sat down at one of the barstools at Eren’s counter. They were a temporary addition that Eren wanted to try out for a bit. He suggested that it would allow for some quick service. It was a little bit too casual for Levi’s tastes, but he did agree it could help with the flow and weave of customers in and out of the store.

The counter was lined with paint swatches and fabric samples. They had gone back and forth between the new seats and tables they wanted to have in the conjoined dining area.

Levi was hoping to repaint some areas not only to just cover up some old stains and cracks but to help their stores have a more seamless connection. Levi had hoped to keep more of the blue and white hues from his store, whereas Eren was planning on tying in his mother’s dark green and soft orange theme.

Levi looked back and forth at some sample colors that closely or perfectly matched the walls of each store. All in all, they didn’t look that bad together. They might change the saturation or brightness of some of them, but it could work. Levi was personally in favor of changing the orange undertones to more of a terracotta, or earthy brown. They simply couldn’t have so many major colors overtaking the building.

Levi’s feet subconsciously swung back and forth as he looked at the paint swatches. The sight of Levi’s feet not being able to touch the ground made Eren’s heart skip a beat. There was nothing he wanted to do more than to just pick Levi up and swing with him around his bakery, around their bakery.

“So, we’re really doing this, huh?” Levi turned in his chair, facing Eren. He leaned against the counter, his eyes slowly shifting back and forth between the brick wall separating their shops and Eren’s gorgeous eyes. There was something about their majestic color that made Levi feel so hopelessly lost yet found in so many ways.

“I can’t think of a better future to have, Levi.” Eren grinned, leaning a little bit closer to Levi, his head almost coming to rest on Levi’s shoulder.

“What if this is too soon?” Levi whispered, his mind trying to imagine just how different their stores would look. He could imagine how warm and welcoming their store would look. He could imagine customers dining happily together with golden, crisp croissants and Earl Grey tea.

“Hey, you’re not offering me a diamond ring or anything,” Eren chuckled, his head coming to rest fully on Levi’s shoulder.

“What?” Carla’s ring weighed heavily in Levi’s pocket, an ever-present reminder that he needed to give it to Eren at some point. It was as clean as could be, perhaps even cleaner than it was before it went down the drain.

“You know, like marriage? It’s not like we have to get married now.” Eren’s eyes drifted from Levi’s a deep, embarrassed blush spread across his face.

“I see.” Levi hummed, feeling disappointed somehow. He certainly wouldn’t mind running an operation like this with a husband by his side.

“I just hope wherever our moms are, they’re happy that we’re finally merging together.” Eren let his eyes slip shut and sighed happily against Levi.


	12. Confession

Summer had come and gone much faster than either of them had expected. Customers had been plenty, and their budget for refurbishments only continued to grow. It was starting to look like they could really turn this far fetched dream into a reality.

They only had a few minor issues with their contractor, but the wall between their stores was safely torn down in only a day. Eren and Levi even got to hold the sledgehammer together and take the first swing at the wall. Dust filled the air as metal and mortar collided, bringing down the only thing that truly divided the two men. There was something beyond cathartic about seeing the bricks falling down onto the strategically placed tarps.

They wished their mothers were here to see it.

As they backed away for the professionals to come in and do their work, they returned to Eren’s kitchen to escape the noise. They could feel the floor vibrating beneath them and the lights swinging gently above them as they made final interior decisions.

Levi had looked through more of his mother’s personal boxes and had found the material she had used to make the lace curtains that hung around his tea shop. He simply insisted that he needed to make more and put them around the bakery portion as well. The simple blinds Eren had put up to keep out minimal light would not do.

Eren got his way and decided that they were going to keep the barstools by their new combined counter. He even picked out an ornate deep blue and white pattern that would fit Levi’s elegant style but match his mother’s preferred saturations.

It had taken months for both of them to agree on each and every single piece, trying to find an appropriate balance between their stores’ complementary styles. Levi was quite proud of the harmony in their new little shop.  
-  
Their re-opening date was steadily approaching, driving both joy and anxiety into their hearts.

Eren was tasked with restocking both ingredients for his kitchen and Levi’s tea. His boyfriend had insisted that he teach Eren on the differences between brews and loose leaves. Eren picked everything up quicker than Levi expected, pleasantly surprising him and easing his nerves. It certainly let Levi know that he could take a sick day without having to worry too much about the store.

But as much as he trusted Eren as a business partner and had full confidence in his abilities, Levi couldn’t help but feel so terrified about the future.

Naturally, Levi picked up his cleaning cloth and started to wipe down the counter for the third time in ten minutes. The counter was spotless and gleaming, well past clean even by Levi’s standards. His reflection stared back up at him, wondering why he couldn’t just tell Eren about the ring. “Eren, what do you want to do with your future?” The question slipped from Levi’s lips before he looked up to look at his lover.

Eren’s head perked up, his pen hovering above his clipboard. “What do you mean?”

“Where do you wanna end up eventually?” Levi shrugged “Eren, is this where you wanna be for the rest of your life?”

“Well, I don’t really know about that. I love this place, and we make a very good team. I could be happy here for the rest of my life, but I don’t really care what happens, so long as you’re here with me.” Eren said without a single shred of doubt in his voice, before resuming his work.

“That’s… that’s good to know.” Levi smiled, letting go of his cleaning rag. He could still feel Carla’s ring weighing heavily in his pocket, but it held a comforting weight today. He could tell that the time to present the ring back to Eren was growing closer. He just needed to wait.  
-  
The days were running out as their new appliances and furniture started to finally arrive.

Levi’s eyes kept glancing back to the front of the store, waiting to see Eren’s car pull up. He was nearly thirty minutes late. Levi pulled out his phone, glancing at the unseen “good morning” text he had sent to Eren.

In theory, Levi could move all of the appliances into the kitchen. However, Levi was sure Eren would want to have a hand in making sure they go to the correct places. After all, he was going to be the one to use half of these things far more than Levi ever would.

The chime of the bells on the door startled Levi as Eren rushed through the front door. “Sorry, traffic was rough,” Eren pulled the shorter man into a tight hug, both as an apology and a greeting. When Eren’s lips pressed against his forehead in a chaste kiss, Levi just couldn’t hold himself back anymore.

“Move in with me.” He blurted out, trying to keep himself steady in Eren’s arms.

“What?” Eren’s brows furrowed, unsure if he had even remotely heard Levi correctly.

“My apartment’s closer, you wouldn’t have to worry about much traffic...” Levi’s voice trailed off, noticing the deeply confused expression on Eren’s face. “You could save money on rent and shit.” Levi threw in another benefit, trying to convince his startled boyfriend.

A genuine smile pulled across Eren’s lip before he pulled away from Levi. “Are those the only reasons you want me to move in with you?”

“No,” Levi’s nerves melted slightly as he switched back to his normal, sarcastic, monotone voice. “I’m dating you because I secretly just want to have an endless supply of breakfast pastries in the morning.”

“Gasp, how dare you.” Eren put his hand over his heart, looking overly offended. “But yes, by the way.” He walked to the counter, slinging his bag onto the newly installed granite. The deep blue shimmered underneath their brand new overhead lights. Everything was fresh and new and almost ready for business.

“Do you need help packing up your stuff?” Levi asked, worrying about Eren getting himself injured in the process. Neither of them wanted to start their first week of re-opening in the hospital.

Eren stayed silent for a few moments, considering when they were expecting deliveries or installations. He could probably find time to talk to his landlord about it tonight. “Maybe if you could swing by on Thursday?”

“Yeah, let’s do that.” Levi smiled, eager to start this life with Eren.  
-

Levi was moving onto his third cup of black tea, his fingers steady around the lip of his cup, but his eyes were frantically darting back and forth between the front door and the large windows lining the street. Memories of the bakery re-opening only a few months ago resurfaced as cars lined up on either side of the road. Excited, hungry customers were already starting to line up on the sidewalk.

Levi’s stomach was in knots, his anxiety starting to bubble underneath his calm and collected mask. “You ready for today?” Levi offered Eren a gentle, reassuring smile, seeing the tension in Eren’s eyes.

“No,” Eren sighed, “but I want to be.”

“We’ll take it one step at a time.” Levi’s hand lingered on Eren’s shoulder, rubbing it

“It’s gonna be the first time we’ve got two people working at once.” “If you need a break, just let me know,” Levi whispered softly, tying Eren’s apron around his hips.

“Good luck out there.” Levi smiled softly as Eren cupped his cheek.

“Stay safe, my dear.” Eren stroked Levi’s cheek with his thumb. They pulled each other into a kiss as if they were heading off into a battle. Hoards of customers would be flooding in soon, they would have to fend them off with sugary confections and delightful tea.

Eren had offered to be the one to open the door, letting all hell loose into the store. He winced as he pulled the door open, preparing to be overrun by the people pushing through. It wasn’t as bad as either of them feared, but the door was roughly shoved open the moment Eren unlocked it.

Eren rushed back to the counter, ready to take orders and deliver pastries. He barely managed to get himself situated before one of his usual customers started to rattle off her usual order before turning to Levi and ordering a simple cup of chamomile.

Levi quickly set the water temperature to one hundred and ninety degrees, letting it heat up as he grabbed a travel cup for her, writing her name down on it. He hadn’t even got the cap back on his pen before another order came flying at him.

Levi hadn’t even gotten out the right tea for that order before a couple ordered a whole pot of herbal tea. Levi let out a shaky breath. He had never dealt with a store this busy. He knew he could handle it, but there would certainly be a learning curve for both of them.

This was a mess, but they could make it through.  
-

There was something truly beautiful about cleaning up their store after finally closing. The silence in the air was only disrupted by the squeaking on the windows and the sloping of the mop on the tile. If they ever got too close to each other while cleaning, Levi would often be startled by Eren pecking a quick kiss on his forehead. Levi, of course, would respond in turn.

Even after the long, rough, first day, Levi still didn’t have a single regret about doing this. It was beyond comforting to have someone always at his side taking care of the same customers, looking out for him, taking pride in what they were doing.

Levi rested his mop against the counter, watching Eren finish up wiping down the windows. The baker took a step back, checking over his work for the third time, before nodding. There was no way in hell Levi could ever find someone who cleaned as well as Eren did.

“Eren,” Levi’s voice was quiet, not wanting to disrupt the tranquility of the room.

“Yes, dear?” Eren lowered his bandana from his mouth, smiling back at Levi. He left his rag on a nearby table as he walked back to Levi.

His gorgeous grin sent his heart into a thunderous storm. “There is no one else in this shitty world that I could ever trust to run something like this store.”

“I…” Tears left over from the stresses of the day started to build along his lower lid. He pulled Levi back into a tight hug, nearly lifting Levi off the ground in the process. “I feel the same way.”  
“Eren…” Levi’s eyes slipped shut, savoring the feeling of Eren’s embrace. “I don’t think there’s any person that could ever understand me like you do.”

“I love you, Levi,” Eren’s hand came up to gently brush Levi’s bangs away from his eyes, letting him get a better view of Levi’s brilliant silver eyes. There was so much emotion hidden behind them. His usual look of uncertainty and worry was replaced with surefire confidence.

“I love you, too.” Levi smiled back, pulling himself out of Eren’s embrace. Levi’s knee bent to rest on the clean, glittering tile. His hand pulled out the ring that had been weighing on his nerves for months. He held it up to Eren, its precious stones glimmering in the lights above them. His precious baker’s eyes widened, his hand coming up to cover his mouth. “Eren Yeager, will you marry me?”

“Oh, Levi.” Eren’s arms wrapped around Levi once more. Eren’s heart was warmed at the thought of Levi purchasing a ring that looked exactly like his mother’s, but when he picked it up, his fingers brushed over the ever-familiar dents and scratches in the engravement. Tears started to drip freely from Eren’s eyes, dripping down to collect at his jaw. “Is this….?” His voice trailed off, his mind not quite able to voice his question. A million thoughts and questions ran through his head as he held his two most precious things in his arms.

“It is.” Levi nodded, holding on to Eren just as tight.

“Where did you find this?” Eren’s question was cracked, each syllable heavy with joyous tears. His fingers held on to the precious heirloom tightly, as if he still couldn’t believe it was back in his hands

“Trust me, uh,” Levi chuckled, lowering his gaze to the ground, “You don’t wanna know.”

Eren slipped the ring onto his finger, feeling whole once more. He held Levi tighter as he covered his fiancé’s face with kisses. All Levi could do was stand there smiling like a lovestruck idiot in the middle of their mothers’ store. It was truly the start of something beautiful.


End file.
